


Certainly One Way of Going About it....

by Cat_With_a_Quill



Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Superheroes/Superpowers, Attempt at Humor, Background Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Fluff and Humor, Hero Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, M/M, Multi, Prompt inspired, Supervillains, They all need hugs, Villain Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, background villain Deceit | Janus sanders, background villain Logic | Logan Sanders, it'll end well though, just a sprinkling of angst, someone unscrewed the cap on my angst shaker, vaguely mentions the other sides
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-07
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:41:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 21,730
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27944708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cat_With_a_Quill/pseuds/Cat_With_a_Quill
Summary: God, had this really started because he tried to set up his crush with his rival?The prompt: "You’ve fallen in love with your best friend. Sadly, they’re obviously smitten with the local superhero. You decide to support them and use your secret identity as a supervillain to try and set them up." -Writing.prompt.sThe author's thoughts after 23 pages: How did we get here?The Character's opinions: "Why is everything on fire??" -V(I'm bad at summaries, sue me)
Relationships: Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Anxiety | Virgil Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders
Comments: 35
Kudos: 103





	1. Hopeless

Virgil was hopeless. 

Of course, he had known this for a while. About a year, in fact, though he had been lost for a good while longer before he realized how new these feelings were to him. He was demiromantic, after all, and he had never had a crush like this before. 

Not that he acted on it once he realized that was what it was. 

It was difficult, especially as it kept growing, but he hid it. He couldn’t afford to let Patton know, even if he liked him back. Hell, especially if he liked him back. It would just be worse for everyone involved. Virgil was a villain by night (well, really it was more of a day job) and he didn’t want Patton to be associated with that if he was caught. Not that closely, anyway. 

Besides. He knew for a fact that Patton _didn’t_ like him back. The hazel-eyed blonde had been positively smitten with Virgil’s rival, the local hero, the Prince, since before Virgil had met him.

That was just great, wasn’t it? 

Well. Virgil didn’t really mind, to be honest. Yes, there was a time when he was a little… jealous of the egotistical superhero, and when he… may have… been a little extra harsh with his plots… And may or may not have almost killed the man once… but that was short lived. He had moved past it, he just wanted to see Patton happy. 

He really, really wanted to see Patton happy. 

And stop hearing him rant about how cute the hero was every other day. 

However to solve this unfortunate dilemma? 

Set them up. 

Easier said than done, but easier done than thought about, he supposed.


	2. Phase one... Complete?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> But unfortunately, that wasn’t how it was. And Prince didn’t even know his friend existed as far as he knew. And it wasn’t like Virgil could- 
> 
> Well. 
> 
> That was an idea, wasn’t it?

He came up with the idea one afternoon in the park, where he and Patton often met up to talk and walk. For a while, Virgil had been happily listening to Patton ramble passionately about the animal shelter he volunteered yet (the man was too much of a bean, god, what had Virgil done to warrant his friendship), until the topic somehow drifted to a certain superhero. 

“Remember when that one villain, what was his name? Pan-demonium? He mind controlled all those animals to go wild? Prince apparently didn’t leave until all of the animals were returned to their rightful owners, he even adopted one of the strays and found new homes for most of the rest! Only a couple ended up at the shelter thanks to him. He’s such a sweetheart, isn’t he? And just last week-” 

That kind of ruined Virgil’s mood a little bit. As much as he loved seeing the soft, loving smile on his friend’s features when he talked about the hero, he couldn’t help wishing it was directed towards him. Or at least that he didn’t have to deal with the infinite torture of seeing it directed towards someone else. 

But unfortunately, that wasn’t how it was. And Prince didn’t even know his friend existed as far as he knew. And it wasn’t like Virgil could- 

Well. 

That was an idea, wasn’t it? 

He didn’t have to let Prince know he was involved with the blonde, he didn’t even have to know what he was trying to do, if he just… laid the crime in the right area…. 

All they had to do was be in the same area, and if he did it enough times, one time he would get lucky and they would meet. After they met, it would be easier to get them together again, and from there… 

Well. That was a plan, now, wasn’t it? 

So he started working through it. 

It started small, just proximity, robbing places across the street from or otherwise nearby where Patton would be at a given time. Nothing too violent, his powers were rather fluid, manipulating shadows as anything from a thin gas to a thick liquid consistency, so it was just a matter of getting into the mindset of defense rather than offense for the most part. He was setting up like he was preparing for one of his bigger schemes. 

It… it didn’t take as long as he thought it would. 

Not.. not nearly as long, actually. 

Patton had ended up in the crowd during one of their showdowns. Virgil had robbed the Bass Pro at the local mall for one of their boats, face completely covered in a black “inverted-Jack-Skellington” style mask with a hood such a dark purple it might as well have been black, and ended up in a full force battle with the Prince, liquid shadows against his weapons made of solidified refracted light. Virgil had the boat floating on a wave of the shadows, what he would use it for he had no idea but it was a great way to make people speculate on his plans, when he noticed just how thick the crowd had gotten. After a fight like this, he wouldn’t have the energy to get it over a crowd like that.. 

So he abandoned it. 

He let a wave of pure shadow crash over the Prince, washing him in the inky black for a moment while Virgil used another group of shadows to practically surf onto the roof of the mall, disappearing from view. 

He couldn’t get back in a way that wouldn’t draw suspicion to himself, so he didn’t really find out what happened until later… on the news… 

This had been the… fourth attempt on Virgil’s part? Was it really only the fourth? He had expected it to take so much longer, he had expected to be able to see it happen, he… 

He hadn’t expected on the news that night to see a rerun of their fight, to see himself slinking away, Prince knocked over from the force of the wave but thankfully looking unhurt as ever, protected by a shield of light for the most part, followed by… Followed by a familiar blonde figure immediately rushing out of the crowd to make sure the Prince was okay. 

The person with the camera moved immediately closer, trying to catch the dialogue. It didn’t catch the start, Patton saying something and the Prince chuckling, but it caught the latter part of what he said. 

“... by a simple shadowy splash. His shadows are really no match for my light. Thank you for your concern, though, I appreciate the sentiment…” he trailed off, searching for something.

“Patton,” said the blonde, holding out a hand to help the hero to his feet. “Are you sure you’re alright? That was a nasty fall. Is there anything I could do?” 

He took the hand “I am quite alright, thank you Patton. It’s not all that often that you get a concerned citizen running out of the crowd so soon after a fight. Quite brave of you, I must say.” 

Patton shrugged. “I was just doing the right thing. You’ve been hurt in battle before, I didn’t want this to be part of the bystander effect if it was serious.” the Prince flinched at apparently the memory of some of their worst battles, and from his sofa, Virgil cringed at the memory of some of the more… regrettable injuries he had left his rival with. 

Prince smiled. “Well, I will certainly remember this for the future, and I hope your small act of bravery will serve as inspiration to others. Although.” He turned to the camera. Of course he turned to the camera. “Know this, citizens; while helping when you can, even in small ways like Patton here, is truly a virtue, you like any hero must know how to pick your battles. Some situations can be made worse by outside involvement; use that head on your shoulders, know when to step up, don’t try to get involved when it would only be dangerous for you and more work for me. Now then, I have a fiend to follow and a boat to return to its rightful place. Patton,” he took the blond’s hand and gently kissed it, possibly for show but it sparked a horrible mix of hope and jealousy in Virgil either way. “Thank you for your concern, I hope you have a good day and to see you again. Au revoir!” And he took off. 

He always took off. That wasn’t strange, even that clueless moron knew too much screen time meant question and questions meant accidentally revealing things about yourself. Especially screen time spent with another individual. But Virgil’s gaze caught on Patton, now in the background, blurry face painted pink. 

This. 

This was good. 

Right? 

Prince had met Patton. On a good note. 

Sooner…. Sooner than expected, but… a step forward was a step forward, right? 

… God, Virgil had not expected this plan to actually get off the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn


	3. Wait what-

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What. Just happened.

It continued like that. It wasn’t every time that Patton took notice of something happening, it wasn’t every time that Prince saw Patton in the crowd, it wasn’t every time that Patton was acknowledged or they interacted, but it was enough. Enough that Patton would gush about it every time, enough that slowly his rants got more and more flustered, enough that-

_“He asked me out!”_

… Ok, Virgil was definitely not expecting that. Well. Okay. That was fast. Huh. Well. Okay. 

“.... Seriously?” Patton nodded frantically. Virgil’s mind continued to more or less entirely fail to form any coherent thoughts. “Patton, that’s-” crazy? Insane? Depressing? Exciting? Soul-crushing? Cool? Heart-breaking? “Great, that’s great. Where is he taking you?” 

Yeah. That worked. 

“I have no idea, I’m meeting him in the park - he told me a specific bench, I think that one over there - and he said to dress nice, I think he’s taking me to a fancy restaurant or something, isn’t that just so romantic? AH! I’m just so excited!” 

“I can tell, it must have been a shock,” _to me or to you I don’t know,_ “I mean, I know you guys interacted a few times, but I had no idea he even might have felt that way about you.” _Seriously, when did this happen, what did I miss, I know I asked for this but I didn’t think I’d even get past stage one are you like soulmates what the hell-_

“I know, right? But he said that he’d had some feelings for me since that first encounter and they only grew but he said it like really poetically and oh, my gosh, he’s so romantic, Vee! Oh, maybe you can meet him sometime, maybe-” 

“Woah, slow down there, Pat,” _before you give me a heart attack,_ “Did you even breath through all of that?”

“Sorry, I’m just so excited! Oh! What am I supposed to wear? Virge, can you help me pick something later? You’ve always been better with fashion and stuff than me- Oooh, do you think you could do my makeup? Would he like that? I think-” 

Everything was going according to…. Some semblance of a plan, ish, kinda. 

Well. It _was_.

_Little Raven_ : hey Pat u never called, how'd your date go?” 

_Pop Star_ : he split it off

What. 

_Little Raven_ : wut

_Pop Star_ : after the date, he split it off

_Pop Star_ : I guess he didn’t like me as much as he thought

_Pop Star_ : It’s all good though! He was nice about it, it was on good terms, and I’m alright. We weren’t really together in the first place after all. 

What. 

What the hell. 

Okaaay. Okay. That was fine. Things were going a little too well anyway. At least Virgil could stop playing matchmaker. 

Alright. 

Cool. 

Nice. 

Why is everything on fire??

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn


	4. Identity Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nope the fire has frozen I repeat the fire has frozen and now it's melted and flooding-

Two weeks later, Patton had apparently acquired a boyfriend, after a blind date set up by one of his work friends from what Virgil had been told. His name was Roman. Virgil definitely wasn’t jealous and hurt and _in absolute total pain and agony_ about that it was fine it was cool. 

Roman was… a person. 

He was flamboyant and annoying and _far too clingy_ and Virgil _definitely_ wasn’t tearing his freaking _hair out_ at how often he suddenly had to be around the guy. 

It ah… it took longer than it should’ve. Or that Virgil would ever admit it had. For him to recognize. The voice. And the hairstyle. And most of the face. Of his archrival. 

That was fun. 

Sure, he had noticed some similarities before. Subconsciously. But. Like.

Yeah.

They had been seeing each other almost bi-weekly as Patton kept inviting Roman along to hangouts with Virgil, apparently desperate for his best friend and boyfriend to get along. It was in one of the moments when they were alone that Virgil had a moment.

Patton had been in the bathroom. Roman apparently couldn’t stand the silence, and they had started bantering over the messages behind Disney movies. Really, it had just sort of slipped out. 

“You really are just a Gloomy Goober, you know that?” 

“That’s a Nickelodeon reference, not Disney.”

“Same effect, Cruella De’Emo.”

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Whatever you say, Princy.” 

He had not expected the other man to freeze and sputter at the nickname. “Pri-Princy?” 

Virgil shrugged, head tilted. “What, no ones ever commented on the uncanny resemblance? You look like you could be his twin, dude.” His brow knit. “Actually, you kind of sound like him, too. And…” Virgil’s eyes widened at Roman’s sudden unease. “Holy crap, wait-” a hand clapped over his mouth, and Virgil huffed into it, giving Roman- the Prince? - a look. They weren’t even in public. They were in Patton’s apartment. It was too cold for the park and too late in the day for coffee. 

“Sorry,” he took his hand away, almost embarrassed, "Just- can you please not tell anyone? Can’t exactly have my secret identity be public information. Or who I’m dating. Wouldn’t want villains using that to their advantage.”

“Yeah. Totally get it.” _I’m definitely not the worst possible person who could know this from your perspective if you knew who I was_. “Don’t worry, your secret’s safe with me.” 

Virgil… didn’t know how to feel about that? Like. His efforts had apparently not been in vain. It had worked. Patton was with Roman. That was. That was the goal. Right? But like. His best friend and crush. Was dating his nemesis. That felt-That felt a little weird, to be honest. Yeah? A little weird? Yeah. 

So like. 

What? 

He didn’t know how to process what he was feeling. Maybe- maybe a little numb? Was he still in shock- he was probably still in shock. 

Well damn. 

Well- good thing, right? Patton was happy, Patton had his crush, Patton was dating a superhero, Patton was dating someone who could make him feel safe and happy, Patton had someone who wasn’t Virgil, Virgil didn’t even have to worry about playing matchmaker anymore. 

But like. 

Virgil didn’t realize how weird it was for him to be fighting his best friend’s boyfriend on a daily basis. And keep it a secret that he knew the hero’s secret identity at the same time. Not to mention, Virgil had been having some major scheming-block recently. He had no idea what he was doing anymore, setting Patton up with Roman had kind of been his way of having something to do since he had no idea what he even wanted anymore from this career. He was kind of having a crisis. He went an entire week without committing any crimes and only made a public appearance because the news and speculation about it was getting annoying. 

So like. 

He had done some pretty hecking cool stuff before, he had made multiple attempts to take over the city (which he gave up on after the fourth because [a] too much effort and [b] he had no idea what he’d actually do if he succeeded), he had stolen a hecking lot of stuff, and he destroyed a statue to the Prince. It was like. That was cool. 

Now what? 

Why was this his career? What had his career goals been? Getting back at society for... being society? That had been before he met Patton, what had that cinnamon roll done to him? Given him _morals?_ Ugh. That was inconvenient. Nothing seemed to have enough of a reward to outweigh what it would cost anymore. 

What to do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn


	5. How to Resolve and Identity Crisis

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh, good, the flood is gone. 
> 
> .... I think that peacock is drowning.... Oh, no, it's fine. It was just being dramatic.

“I just don’t get it!”

The three of them had been hanging out at Patton’s again, the news on in the background. Virgil had disappeared to the “bathroom” for a bit and came back a little too long later to find Roman pacing the room and Patton watching him with concern on his face. 

“What... what did I miss?” Virgil asked, knowing perfectly well what was coming. 

Roman growled in frustration. “The freaking Phantom!” Virgil adjusted his grip on his backpack at the sound of his villain name. Well. Former villain name. “That Skellington-faced schemer! What is he planning? He’s been acting so weird lately, and now this? What is happening?” 

Virgil looked at Patton for an explanation. Patton obliged. “The Phantom broke into a news station, took the microphone from the Al, the weather man, and announced he was retiring from villainy before handing the mic back and walking off set.” 

Virgil had thought it was quite an elegant way to end his seven-year career of villainy. “Seriously? The Phantom quit? Just like that?” He knew he was feeding Roman’s paranoia, but it was fun to watch the Prince pace. 

“Apparently!” He exclaimed in frustration. “That’s what _he_ wants us to believe! I just don’t buy it. He can’t just- He can’t just _do_ that! We’ve- I’ve- We’ve been fighting for _seven years,_ he’s my _archnemesis,_ he can’t just quit!” 

Virgil snickered. “What, will it ruin your career, Prince Charming?” 

“I-” Roman paused, pondering that. “I mean, no, but that’s not how it works! You don’t build this great- this great foundation of rivalry and just- just _abandon_ it, like you didn’t commit _seven years worth_ of _crimes!_ And like- Archnemesises- Come on! Archnemesi don’t just _quit!_ ” 

Virgil was having a hard time not breaking out in hysterical (only slightly villainous) laughter. “Jeeze, Princy, you’re acting like you’ve been broken up with over text.” 

“I basically was!” Virgil lost it. “It’s not funny! We’re like the Batman and the Joker, only in this universe, _I’m_ the Lego Joker! Besides, villains don’t just _quit_ , he’s planning something, I know it!” 

Roman continued to rant like a boyfriend had left him for a cat for the rest of the evening, and as amusing as Virgil found it, he did need to go job hunting at some point and made an excuse to leave. 

“Hey, Patton,” he said into the phone. It was the next morning, and he decided that was long enough for him.

“Hey, kiddo! Whaddya need?” 

“I need some help job hunting,” his swinging feet hit the side of his bed. 

“What? What happened?” 

“Nothing too weird,” he explained, glancing at the newspaper he had picked up purely so he could keep clippings of the headline, _Phantom Claims Retirement… What’s the Scheme?_ Priceless. “I just wasn’t really content with it. It was getting to be more draining than fulfilling like it used to be. Needed a change.” 

“Well, kiddo, did you at least have some jobs in mind?” 

“Eh, I don’t know. Maybe something simple so I can start up art commissions on the side? I dunno.” 

Patton tutted from the other end of the line. “You should have thought it through more before quitting, kiddo.” 

“Hey, you’re the one always telling me to put my mental health ahead of other stuff more.” 

Patton chucked. “That doesn’t mean putting yourself into a financially unstable position! Do you at least have enough savings for a while?” 

“Yeah, I’m not a complete idiot.” Virgil paused. “Just mostly an idiot.” 

“Call yourself an idiot again, and I will physically fight you!” Patton and Virgil shared a laugh at the inside joke. “Alright, I’ll see how I can help. Hope you find something soon, Vee!” 

“Thanks, Pat. See you soon.” 

“You too! Bye!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn


	6. Everything is fine.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> ... Man, that peacock is really dedicated to this, huh? It's not even sinking, I'm pretty sure it can tough the bottom without it's wings going under-

Virgil didn’t know which was worse: Job hunting or watching Patton and Roman slowly grow closer. He did eventually manage to land a position at a local coffee shop and started working on setting up commissions on the side, might as well not let those design classes go entirely to waste, but it wasn’t fun. 

When it came to Patton and Roman, though, he was conflicted. 

Yes, he was jealous, yes, it was painful to watch them be affectionate when he was single and pining on the sidelines, and yes his feelings had _only freaking gotten worse-_

But Patton was so happy. He was always smiling and he still practically melted whenever Roman flirted with him and seeing Patton happy just made Virgil feel all warm and fuzzy. 

And Roman-

Actually, at first, seeing Roman occasionally still break into rants about the Phantom and what-could-he-possibly-be-planning and you-can’t-just-do-that almost made it worth it in and of itself. It was quite the spectacle that even as days turned into weeks and eventually weeks turned into a month the Prince still couldn’t just move on. It really was like watching a really bad breakup. Virgil almost felt bad. 

Almost. 

It was kind of hard to feel bad, though, when overall, the thing you did was by and far more good than bad and the person you would feel bad for was one of your worst enemies. 

Virgil had long since burned the costume and the voice alterer to make sure he wasn’t even tempted to start scheming, so at this point, the Prince really was just worried over nothing. That was fun.

Eventually, it did start to get annoying though. 

“He never showed a speck of remorse and he- he stole all those things! He tried to steal a freaking _boat_ , he had to have been planning something, what is he trying to do? He’s luring me into a false sense of security, I just know it-” 

_“Roman,”_ Virgil finally interrupted, “Did it ever occur to you that maybe, just maybe, the Phantom was serious about quitting, no schemes attached, and was just, I dunno, tired of being a villain or something?” 

“I-” Roman floundered for a moment, then crossed his arms and pouted. “He can’t just do that though..” he complained. 

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Maybe he did. But you’ve got that new supervillain group to deal with now anyway, right?” 

“What, the ‘Dark Sides’?” Roman scoffed. “Second-rate snakes, the lot of them. They don’t even begin to measure up to the Phantom’s challenge.” 

Virgil snickered. “What, did you have a crush on this guy or something? Seriously, Roman, it’s been like a month. Let it go. Obsessing over him won’t help anyone.” 

Roman ducked his head and tapped his foot. 

“Roman,” tried Patton, “it’s not good for you to be stressing over this so long after the facts. What if he really did quit? There are other villains to thwart, my Prince.” 

Roman glanced up at Patton, then Virgil, and sighed. “Alright,” he said, “I’ll try to forget about it. It’s just-” He huffed. “It was complicated. I digress, I suppose. What were we talking about before?” 

That confused Virgil. How had it been complicated? Nothing about it should have been complicated from Roman’s perspective. They were archrivals, nothing more, and Virgil had done some pretty shitty things to the Prince. Yes, he had honest-to-god verbally apologize for some of the worst injuries in later battles, but like, no. Archrival relationships are not _complicated_. That’s not how it worked. 

Ah well. It was probably fine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn


	7. Nothin is fine.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> NOPE THE FLOOD AND THE FIRE ARE BACK AND NOW THE FLOOD IS ACID I REPEAT: The FLOOD is ACID, WHERE'S MY BLUEBIRD-

Nothing was fine.

For completely separate reasons, but I digress.

Virgil, Patton, and Roman had been on a walk together through the city when chaos broke out about a block behind them. Roman shouted at them to “Get somewhere safe!” before running into the closest shop bathroom to change, his image already blurring as light around him refracted as he moved. Patton and Virgil started to run, but it seemed the aforementioned chaos wasn’t limited to one area; they barely made it around the corner when they caught sight of a giant snake slithering down the street. They turned and started the other way only to to spot the third member of the group, the Duke, standing with a mourning star held high on top of a building, someone screaming a warning to the other civilians as they scattered before the figure swung, breaking off a far bigger chunk of the building than should have been possible for a normal person.

Virgil hesitated. It was a three way intersection and that was their third and final option. He glanced back over his shoulder at the snake, a product of Deceit’s intensely realistic manifestations, only half-illusionary, and back to the road they had come where the third member, Logos, must be doing… something. Virgil wasn’t sure he wanted to find out what, the mind-reader probably scared him most. He glanced at the surrounding buildings, assessing their options.

Inside would mean risking the Duke bringing the building to the ground around them on his path of destruction, and going in any direction meant facing - or at least evading - one of the three. Logos was out of the question, he didn’t want the psychokinetic in his head. Deceit… Deceit was risky; the illusions, if Virgil had heard right, acted physically real as long as part of the brain of, for objects a bystander, for people the person in question believed it was real. Virgil didn’t plan on getting swallowed today. And the Duke-

His thoughts were cut off as quick footsteps signaled Patton had apparently decided risking running through the path of Duke’s destruction was worth it. Virgil’s eyes widened.

“Patton!” his voice cracked in the middle but he just ran after the blonde, vaguely aware of a flash of light behind him. His attention was flickering from the Duke, still wandering the rooftops and smashing off chunks of buildings, sending debri flying, to Patton, who dodged the pieces that had already fallen along with a couple of other civilians that had chosen this path. He glanced up again to find Prince had ended up fighting the Duke first, by what coincidence he didn’t know. Whatever, it didn’t matter, Virgil focused on Patton. Just too fast to catch up to. He heard another chunk fall and froze as he saw the shadow gathering in front of him, saw Prince suddenly there beside Patton with a hastily thrown shield pointed up and a huge chunk of building shattering.

And Virgil had frozen.

Patton had been targeted and Virgil had frozen.

The rock shattered on the shield, and as the dust cleared, Virgil’s mind suddenly left Patton as he saw Roman knocked over on the ground, apparently dizzy, painfully similar to how he had looked right after Virgil’s wave.

That was something he used to exploit as a distraction to leave. A weakness of the Prince; a hasty shield could throw him completely off balance. Like Virgil’s own shadows, the light was an extension of himself so in some part he still felt the impact. Like a boxer poorly prepared to take a hit, a heavy blow could all but incapacitate him for a crucial few-

Crucial few seconds, another crack could be heard, Patton was helping Princy up, turned away from Virgil, but neither had noticed, noticed the new shadow, the deep shadow, the freaking shadow-

Virgil ran forward as a shadow last second leapt up around them, more solid than he had ever made them before, more solid than he had ever been _able_ to make them before, a dome, a full shield, he felt it, felt the impact, felt the cluster of brick and concrete bounce off like rubber, felt the debri, felt it end, felt the shadow turn to smoke as he ran he couldn’t breathe he couldn’t see the shadows filled his eyes his ears his mouth it was all a cloud all black all endless all black he couldn’t-

He ran.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> _cough cough_ well that escalated quickly-


	8. Bluebird in the Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The bluebird found the raven.

He didn’t know where he was going. He felt his feet pounding on the ground like it was a dream, heard shouting like it was coming through a tunnel, but his vision was obscured completely by shadow. God, this hadn’t happened this badly since high school. 

_Oh God, Patton._

He almost tripped at the thought. 

_Oh, God, Patton..._

He pushed his feet into the ground and ran harder. He ran and ran, taking turns more feeling his way through shadow than seeing. 

Then he collapsed. 

He felt the shadows thick around him. An alleyway? How had he found an alleyway? Where was he? His eyes flickered but the shadow smoke was still too thick to see. He couldn’t breathe. Whether more from running or the attack he wasn’t sure. 

Shadows. It was all shadows. 

They’d seen it. He’d done it in front of them. They hated him. They had to hate him. Roman was his archrival and Patton trusted Roman and Patton and Roman were good and he had been so bad but he had saved them but then he had run he had run away like a fucking coward and they hated him and oh god they knew who he was and he was going to die in this alleyway or be arested as soon as he left it and everything was going to come crashing around him like those buildings with the Duke and _oh god he couldn’t breath he was going to die here he would die hated and alone and oh god-_

A loud noise startled his back to the wall. He still couldn’t see through the shadow, couldn’t see, couldn’t be seen, just black. Footsteps. Oh, god, that had been a skidding noise skidding to a halt and now there were footsteps and oh god he was _dying this person would kill him-_

A voice. A voice? A voice was saying something. God, that voice sounded nice. It was familiar. He couldn’t see the face he couldn’t see them he couldn’t _see._

“... me? Hello there? I don’t know if you can hear me, but you need to breathe, I can hear you hyperventilating. If you can hear me and understand me, could you breathe for me, please? I could count for you, my friend told me about this technique, in for four, hold for seven, out for eight? Here, breath in- two- three- four-” 

The voice kept counting, and gradually, Virgil recognized it as Patton. Why was Patton here? How had he found him? How had- oh, god, was the radius of the cloud really that big? He could feel the shadows flowing all the way to a more open area. He focused on what he could sense in that. Pulling in, he focused on his extended senses, the shapes of the dumpsters, the texture of the ground and the walls, the shift in the wall where there was a door, in further, the figure right in front of him, Patton, he felt like a lamp, a little light in his shadows, even his presence within the cloud felt so freaking _warm_ \- 

“Breath in, two, three, four, hold, two, three, four, five, six, seven, breath out, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, breath in-” 

He continued to count. Did Patton know who he was talking to? He was being so nice, though. Did he know it was the Phantom? He must, who else could manipulate shadows like this? Did he know it was _Virgil?_

“Well, you sound a lot better now,” Patton commented through the fog. He still stood in it, so Virgil drew in the radius even further so it would only be directly around him. Patton didn’t have to be blind in this situation, only Virgil did. “And look at that! You got control of the fog.” A pause. A step forward and… did he just kneel? Was that what that sound was? 

“Hey, it’s alright. You’re alright, I’m alright, the Prince is alright. You did that. I don’t know why you did that, but you helped us.” Another short pause, waiting for a reply that wouldn’t come. A sigh. “You don’t have to talk. I’m just glad you’re alright. As much as I’m sure Prince would like to talk to you, I have a person to find, and you have retirement to get back to. But uh.. I just wanted to say.” There was some shifting, maybe standing up? Had he ever knelt down? “I think you’d make a pretty good hero if you tried it. Maybe a bit of a lighter theme on the outfit, though, yeah? It’s… just an option, you don’t have to, but… What you just did, before you ran off, that was pretty heroic. I kind of wish I had a face to put to it besides that old mask. I’ll… I hope to see you around, Phantom.” 

Then footsteps. 

Slow. Half hopeful he’ll get a response yet. Half hopeful. Why was he hopeful? He was thankful? He was thankful to the _Phantom?_ To Virgil- no, he didn’t know it was Virgil. But he sounded sincere and when was Patton ever not sincere but- no, he was a cinnamon roll, of course he was sincere- so then- did Virgil- should he- Patton was looking for Virgil- but Virgil was here- should he just- 

And Suddenly Virgil was on his feet, nearly tackling Patton in a hug, pressing his face into the shoulder of a very startled blonde man. He knew there were tears in his face. He knew they must be getting in Patton’s shirt. He knew his shadows still surrounded him but now they were less fog more hugging him and Patton like a dry, flowing blinket, not trapping, just hugging. “Please,” he heard his own voice whisper, “Don’t leave.” 

He could feel the startled Jump beneath him, the suddenly quick motions that were caught and forced to slow as hands reached his back, then readjusting as if checking it was real. “Virgil?” 

Virgil nodded into Patton’s shoulder, his grip tightening on Patton’s shirt as he leaned into him. “Please.” _Please don’t hate me, please don’t leave, please don’t call the cops, please don’t scream, please don’t leave me, please, please, please-_

Patton slowly moved them to the side and lowered them to the ground, murmuring breath counts to him and softly rubbing his back. 

“Hey, Virgil,” He eventually whispered as the emo finally calmed down enough for the shadows to melt away, “You’re okay. I’m okay. Roman is okay. You did good. You’re still my best friend. This changes nothing.

“It _does_ though,” he muttered into the blond’s chest, “He won’t- he’s- he _hates_ me, and you- I don’t-” 

“He doesn’t have to know, Vee. Nothing has to change. And let me tell you a secret-” Patton shifted and when he spoke again, his breath was right on Virgil’s ear, barely a whisper “-I don’t think he actually hates you. He was just a little thrown off by the sudden change. Besides,” he could practically feel him smiling next to him, “Neither of us could ever hate you. You’re our _friend_ , our confidant. I just hope you’ll let us be yours in time.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn


	9. Archrivals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> BABY RAVEN NO

Virgil didn’t know how much time had passed in silence. He wasn’t even aware of the distant sounds of destruction until they stopped. He just knew when Patton was letting him know he was going to look outside of the ally, when Patton helped him up and led him by the hand and started on the path to his apartment, the predetermined meeting place should this ever happen, this whole.. interrupted-by-chaos-Roman-has-to-fight thing. 

And up to the apartment. 

And on to the couch. 

Virgil was leaning forward, elbows on his legs, tapping his foot, hands rubbing the back of his neck. He felt a hand start rubbing his back too. 

“What if something happened to him? Something almost did before and I wasn’t there to help after that and it was three on one-” 

“Virgil, sweetie, Roman will be alright. He fought through a lot before, fought these people before, and you saved him from what would have been really bad luck. Saved us. He’ll be alright.” 

“What if he saw me? What if he already knows and hates me? What if-” 

“He won’t hate you. Besides, if I didn’t see you, how would he have?” 

Virgil was quiet for a moment. 

“What if-” 

He was cut off by the door opening, head whipping around in that direction instantly. 

Roman looked rough. And exhausted. Thankfully, he didn’t seem to have any major injuries, by whatever miracle that was. The worst of it was probably the dejected look on his face. He walked over and collapsed on the couch beside Patton, running a hand through his hair. 

“I don’t…” His voice came out much too soft, much too defeated, much too tired. “I don’t know if I can do that again.” 

Patton frowned and scooted closer to Roman. Virgil immediately missed the solid presence beside him. 

“What do you mean, Roman? What happened?” 

“I- Patton, I basically lost out there. It- they usually stay _together_ , they don’t usually _split up like that,_ I didn’t even- they left on their _own accord_...” 

“But you’re okay now, right? That’s what matters.” 

“I almost wasn’t!” Roman shot up from the couch, hands wrapped in his hair. “That’s the problem! Several times, I almost wasn’t! I almost let that- that _Logos_ guy in my head, and the freaking snake knocked me full force!” His hands were waving frantically as he paced. “I would have hit the building and broken something if I hadn’t- and before- before all that- we both would’ve been- we’d both have-” His hands settled into fists at his sides, looking pointedly away from Patton. He took a deep breath before blowing up again. “And that’s another thing! Isn’t it? What the hell was he _doing_ there? Why did he _help_ us? Has the world turned on its head? It’s always been a fact that he _hated-_ that we hated each other! And he just- Just _shows up_ , and _saves me_ , out of _nowhere_ , and then has the gaul to just… just _disappear?_ Like _nothing happened?_ ” 

“But it is a good thing, right?” Patton spoke calmly, and Virgil pressed further back into the corner of the couch, silent. “He really has changed his ways. Maybe he was just afraid of how you’d react so he ran off.” 

“It’s not just _him_ this time, Patton, it’s _me_. I was helpless at that moment! We both would’ve- would’ve- and I couldn’t do anything about it! I couldn’t- That was pure _luck_ , what if he hadn’t just so happened to be there? What were the chances _he_ would have been there in the first place? If he wasn’t, we’d be _dead_ and it would be my- my fault…” 

Patton stood and approached Roman, Virgil freezing at the sudden lack of weight on that side of the couch. “Roman, no, no, you _saved_ me. It was only because you saved me that you got knocked like that. If it was anyone's fault, it was mine for running down the street like that alone.” 

“No, Pat,” Roman locked eyes with his boyfriend and placed hands on his arms, “You were just trying to get to safety like I told you. You couldn’t have known what would happen. If it was anyone’s fault, it really was-” 

“The Duke’s,” Virgil suggested, interrupting the Prince before he could blame himself again. He shrank at the attention it drew to him. “He was the one destroying stuff and targeting people. You would have tried to save anyone else as much as Patton, you guys dating just put more... emotional strain or whatever on it.” 

“I mean…” Roman looked down at his hands on Patton’s arms. “Yeah, yeah. I guess you’re right. But still, I-” 

“Did your best,” Virgil suggested, “Saved your boyfriend and probably a hell of a lot of other citizens.” 

“Needed help!” Roman sighed. “I can usually do it all by myself but even I know how to tell when maybe.. Just maybe… I needed help. I’m not _supposed_ to need help. I’m supposed to be the hero, the one who can save anyone without needing other people to get involved. But I needed help.”

Patton hummed, pulling his boyfriend into a hug. “It’s okay to need help, Roman. Even heroes need help sometimes.” They were all quiet for a minute. Then, “What if you asked the Phantom for help?” 

“Wh-” Roman pulled back. “Are you _crazy?_ We were- are- arch nemesi!” 

“He helped you today,” Patton pointed out. 

“So? He’s a _villain_ Patton, one of the worst! Even if by some weird miracle he actually has developed _morals_ , I don’t even know who he is, and why would a villain just- just suddenly want to be a _hero?_ ” 

“He wasn’t just a villain, you know,” Patton said, “He had a life outside of that too. Maybe something happened in his life that gave him a change of heart.” 

“Some change in his personal life wouldn’t affect the fact that he’s my archnemesis!” 

Virgil had been frozen when this topic, the topic of him, first came up. As the conversation continued, he sank. That Roman still thought of him as only an arch nemesis… That shouldn’t hurt, of all things. He was talking about the Phantom, not _Virgil,_ and even if he had been talking about Virgil, it wasn’t like they were that close. They were only friends through Patton. 

But… but that wasn’t true anymore, was it? They had at some point started talking like friends even when Patton wasn’t around. Really good friends, actually. And Virgil-

God this was a bad time for this realization. This was how Virgil had felt about Patton what- two years ago now? This was the start of a crush, wasn’t it? It was only the start, barely there, but still. _Another?_ Shit. Since when was he demi _and_ poly? He supposed he’d never been close enough to enough people to realize... Shit.

And Roman needed help. He had almost gotten seriously hurt- almost died out there today. He was fighting three-on-one all with incredibly powerful abilities. He needed someone on his side. Someone who wasn’t part of the bystander effect. And it was out of Patton’s ability this time. 

God, had this really started because he tried to set up his crush with his rival? 

Speaking of, Virgil was actually getting quite annoyed by Roman’s insistent use of the term “nemesis”. It was so cliche in such a useless way, wasn’t it? Nemesi wasn't even a _word_. ‘Rival’ was just so much better. 

And Patton’s ‘maybe something happened in his personal life,’ God, Patton, _you happened, you know it’s me, do you understand that_ you _are what happened?_

And-

“Actually, Princy, I’ve always preferred the term ‘archrival’, and it kind of… would.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> Virgil. Buddy. Raven baby. Child. No.  
> Also, SOMEONE COMFORT ROMAN- oh, wait, I'm the author, it's my job to force these children to behave.  
> Eh. It'll probably work out.
> 
> Any views or opinions expressed regarding words denoting long-standing enemyships do not necessarily reflect those of the author.


	10. Roman.exe has Stopped Working

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Uh, hey, bluebird... I think we broke the peacock....
> 
> GODDAMNIT VIRGIL-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If were curious, we've just gotten to the point I was when I started posting this. That's right, we've arrived at the how-did-we-get-here 23 page mark.

“Actually, Princy,” he didn’t mean to speak, he didn’t know what he was saying, why he was talking, he didn’t mean to speak but he was in for it now anyway, wasn’t he? God, Patton was giving him that hopeful look, he couldn’t let it fall to disappointment again, God, why. “I’ve always preferred the term ‘archrival’, and it kind of… would.” 

Roman’s gaze fixed on Virgil, for a long time one of confusion that the emo shied away from. His eyes flickered up again just in time to see realization feed back into confusion. His gaze flickered to Patton, who somehow managed to look proud and cautious at the same time. “Virgil?” the emo in question shrank further in on himself. “You-” 

“I burned the freaking costume two months ago, Princy. Could you move on?”

“But.. what- you _knew_ who I was.” 

“Yeah.” Virgil refused to make eye contact with anything aside from the couch cushions. “Yeah, I did.” 

“...And you just _quit?_ ” 

“Yeah.” 

“You-” Roman didn’t seem to have entirely grasped what was happening. “You’re _him?_ ” 

“... Yes. I thought that point had been made.” 

“You- _seriously?_ ” 

“What? You got a problem with it?” Virgil tried to put some of his annoyance into intimidation, but it was a lot harder when you were tucked in a ball. On the couch. Without the cool, menacing costume and mask and voice. And known as a short anxious bean.

“You had an _advantage,_ that most people only _dream_ of, and you just- _quit?_ I don’t buy it.” 

Virgil sighed. “I and so fucking tired of hearing that… Yes, I am the Phantom, yes, I knew who you were, yes, I quit, no, I am not scheming anything nor do I plan to go back to villainy. Get over it, Princy.” 

“How do I know you’re telling the truth?” 

“Why the fuck would I lie about this? It’s like the dumbest thing to lie to a superhero about.” 

“He’s telling the truth,” Patton interjected. Roman just stared for a moment. “I found him after he saved us. He was having a panic attack. Did you think he would just leave me alone?”

There was another pause. “You knew?” It was difficult to discern precisely what Princy’s tone was. 

“Yes.” 

A pause. “What-” 

“I only found out today,” Patton clarified. 

Virgil swore he could hear the gears in Roman’s brain grinding to a halt. 

“I need to sit down,” said the Prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> Roman needs a hug. Virgil is going to need a hug. Patton needs to hug someone.
> 
> _But who will Patton hug? only time will tell...._   
> 


	11. Peacock needs to Process

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Roman.exe has been turned off and on again.

It took a lot of explanation, mostly repeating the same facts but a lot nonetheless, but eventually Prince more or less (sort of) accepted the fact that Virgil was the Phantom and Patton hadn’t learned as much until not too long ago. When he did-

“What the hell!” He shouted, shooting up from his seat. “All this time- What’s it been now? How long have we been dating, Patton?” 

“Three months.” 

“Three mo- has it really only been three months?” Indeed it had. Virgil was honestly shocked at how much they’d bonded in that time. Maybe it had something to do with having already sort of known each other, even if they hadn’t known they did to start. “Well, whatever, you’ve known who I was and who I was dating for almost _three months_ , at least a couple weeks before quitting, and you did- you did _nothing_ with that information?” 

Virgil rolled his eyes. “Jeeze, Princy, if I didn’t know better, I’d say you sounded offended. 

“Well, maybe you don’t know better.” 

Virgil gave Roman a look. “Are you seriously telling me that it _offends_ you that, after having met you outside of costume, I decided _not_ to use every new advantage I had at my disposal to, I dunno, ruin your career or something?” 

“I-” Roman made a series of rather frustrated noises. “Why? Why _didn’t_ you? Why didn’t you use every advantage you had to have a free run of the city? Why- why just quit?” 

Virgil looked at Patton for a moment before fixing his gaze back on Roman and shrugging, trying to be nonchalant. “I wasn’t getting anything out of it anymore, just adding more crimes to the list of someone who doesn’t exist anymore. More tiring than rewarding. And unethical. Contrary to popular belief, I do not enjoy pointlessly hurting people for the sake of hurting people. Plus, it was kind of just awkward for me at that point, I mean like, you two were dating and I saw you out of costume like all the time soo….” he was not going to admit that it was also because they were kind of sort of friends at that point-

Roman’s eyes narrowed. “Since when do you have morals, Charlie Frown?” 

“Reused, and you can blame the cinnamon roll to your left for showing me the world isn’t actually made of shadows.” 

It was Patton’s turn to make a noise of general annoyance, which surprised both of the other men in the room. Patton moved right in front of the emo. “Virgil,” He said, “I didn’t put anything there-” He booped the nose of the former villain “-that wasn’t already there, I just bought you out of your shell enough for them to shine. Bright like a diamond.” 

Virgil smiled softly. “Thanks, Pat, but you have no idea how much knowing you has changed me.” 

“There’s a difference between change and growth, Vee.” A hand found his knee for the moment. “And you’ve grown a lot. I’m so proud of that, and I’m glad I got to be a part of it, but that was all you.” 

“Alright, that was cute and all,” Roman’s voice cut through the moment, “But Patton, how can you just _trust him_ like that? You’ve known him for _how long_ and he _never told you_ , you just happened to find out, and you forgive him, forgive _everything_ he’s done, just like that?”

“Roman, I get that this would be… harder for you,” Patton said, turning back to Roman. “You knew the Phantom first, but I knew him as _Virgil_ first, and I think that’s a lot more real than who he is behind a literal mask.” 

“But-” 

“Ro, you tell me, when you actually got to know Virgil, not the Phantom, not whatever your first impression was, not even those first few weeks, just a few hours ago, what did you think of _Virgil?_ ”

“I-” Prince tried to give an automatic response, but something caught it in his throat. A series of unreadable expressions crossed his face, ending on one that was more or less a blank sort of puzzlement. 

Why did he pause? Actually, _had_ Roman ever even seen him as anything more than “the best friend” to his boyfriend, now that Virgil thought about it? What else-

“I’d have said… he was annoying, and a total emo, colder than a frosted over snowman in winter, but… warmer on the inside.” The Prince was carefully avoiding his gaze now, whether so he wouldn’t be reminded of his new side or for some other reason, Virgil couldn’t tell. “Funny. His morals... _seemed_ to be in the right place. He certainly cares a lot for his friends. Probably more loyal than any friend I’ve ever had. He’s- he was the kind of person I’d think would lay down his life for someone he really cared about. I- hm.” His gaze flickered around the room, trying to find something to focus on that wasn’t another set of eyes. “I don’t- I don’t get it.” He finally let his gaze drift back to Virgil. “How- how the _hell_ are _you_ the _Phantom?_ How- _How_.” 

Virgil looked down, quiet for a few seconds. Then he snickered at the sheer ridiculousness of what was happening. “Are you actually asking for my tragic villain backstory right now?”

Roman made some trademark Offended Princy Noises. “Yes.” 

Virgil hummed. He was quiet again. 

Could he really just… tell them? Well, Patton already sort-of knew. He just didn’t know what had been the effect until today. But… It wasn’t really a good- a good reason, was it? 

Hm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn


	12. The Raven, the Peacock, and the Bluebird

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The raven debriefs his crushes. 
> 
> The children aren't behaving. 
> 
> At least we're in an acid flood and fire proof boat now.

Virgil had become a villain seven years ago, met Patton three years ago, fallen in love with him two years ago, and realized this fact a little over one year ago. 

What happened eight years ago? 

...Not a whole lot, honestly. Virgil had been fresh out of college, design major, struggling to pick up even a little bit of business. His favorite thing was to design outfits, costumes, clothing, and he was pretty good at putting them together too. It was how he’d gotten his patchwork hoodie that he was so fond of, from scratch. He enjoyed anything to do with design, but clothing, however niche it was, had always been his favorite. 

It was more of a collective thing, now that he thought about it. He’d been alone for most of his school career, ever since the transition from elementary to middle school lost him his clique. That alone might not have been enough, but, surprise surprise, he had also been bullied. And his parents got into a car crash in his second year of college. 

Cliche, I know. 

Really, it was just a series of bad luck. Typical of a backstory as it sounds, it happened to him. It didn’t exactly help that he could manipulate shadows by some… miracle? Freak of nature? He’d always been led to believe it was the latter by anyone who knew. Which, granted, only his family really had, and they were gone, but the bathroom filled with a thin shadowy smog after a panic attack hadn’t exactly been good for his image back in school. 

As the story goes, design school, failure to get any commissions or find work in design in any area, struggling for a year, and ultimately deciding it would be easier to put these weird powers to use and steal some money. Just this once. 

So he did. 

And it had felt so… 

Empowering. 

It felt… great. Incredible. Amazing. To finally let the shadows flow instead of holding back, and get something beneficial for it? It was too tempting not to do it again. 

After the second time, he bought materials for the outfit (still mainly in the mindset of purchase rather than steal) and piece by piece, he replaced his makeshift covering with the upgrade. 

It was the fourth time, when he had been stealing the voice changer actually, that he first met Princy. See, the cops had always been just too late, turns out Virgil was the first real supervillain in the city and they hadn’t really been prepared for someone able to just… waltz through with almost no regard for security other than a flick of the hand and shadows suddenly weighing on them like glue. 

Princy had been wearing a pretty makeshift outfit himself, a bandana around his eyes like a ninja turtle and what must have been the prince tunic and sash from some old Halloween costume. They fought, and for the first time, Virgil only barely managed to nab his main target with no added benefits. He hadn’t had total free reign, there had been a struggle. He did get the voice altering thing to work just in time for a cheesy one liner, though. 

Huh. He had been the start of Princy’s career, hadn’t he? There hadn’t really been a need for a superhero around here until Virgil became the first supervillain. 

From there, he took it as a challenge, really. The plans got more elaborate, the stakes got higher, other supers started to emerge, and surprisingly, most of them as villains. Some of them emerged purely to fight Prince, like he was the one doing something wrong by fighting Virgil and some of the other new villains. Somehow, Virgil got the name Phantom. Somehow, Virgil stayed the main focus of the news and of Prince out of all the villains. 

And yes, he had tried to take over the city. Four times. And almost killed Princy twice. And, sometime six and a half years after their first encounter, the town, for some reason, had decided to make the hero a statue in the park and Virgil had blown it up. 

There hadn’t really been much left for him in the career when he quit.

He said as much. 

But why- 

“Why are you so obsessed with me?” 

Roman looked startled by the sudden question after the story. Then he considered it. “I suppose… I suppose part of it _was_ reason until you. The cops could usually handle it, the movies really do not give them enough credit, but they couldn’t handle you. So I stepped in. From there… 

“From there, I guess I got comfortable, you know? We had a routine. We’d fight, usually I’d win, maybe a few times you’d get the better of me, now and then you’d recede for a bit to set up for a big scheme, plans that I would foil. A lot of other villains came and went, but you were a constant. A constant nuisance, but a constant. And- I don’t know. I don’t know! Weird as it sounds, you were fun, and I shouldn’t be- saying that- _feeling_ that because, y’know, it was supposed to be my goal to catch you so you couldn’t be a villain anymore. It _was_ my goal. I think. 

“You just… _Quitting_ certainly wasn’t in the plans. I thought at worst, some other superhero would crop up and prove they were better than me by getting you under control.”

“That sort of did happen,” Said Virgil. 

“You can still think of it in a similar way, Ro,” Patton said simultaneously. The two turned to each other, Patton giggling and Virgil smirking in amusement as Roman just looked between them, confused. Virgil saw this first and shrugged before explaining his side. 

“I mean, Patty might not have any superpowers to fight crime with, but if it weren’t for meeting him, I probably would never have quit. Might have taken three years, but still.” 

“Actually,” Patton said, “I was talking about you, Virge.” It was Virgil’s turn to look at Patton in confusion. “Like I said, I didn’t really change you. I just helped you come out of that shell of shadows you were hiding in. And I wasn’t lying when I said you’d make a good hero. And even if not to the city, you’re already my superhero. Well, one of my superheroes.” He smiled at Roman before turning back to Virgil. “You were the one who chose to quit, no one else. Of _course_ that fits you.” Virgil blushed bright red, and Roman scoffed. 

“He would only qualify for a third of it.” 

Virgil raised an eyebrow. “Really, Princy? A whole third?” 

Roman counted off on his fingers. “Third number one, other superhero, no, third two, better than me so obviously not, and the final third, get you under control, which I _guess_ I’ll concede you a point for that.” 

“He could be a superhero if he wants to be!” Patton defended. 

“Ah, thanks, Patton,” Virgil said through his bangs, head angled down to hide his blush. “But honestly? I don’t know that the city or even Princy here would be okay with ‘the _Phantom_ ’ fighting crime just yet.” 

“But Roman needs help!” 

“Love, with all due respect,” Roman interjected, “I can speak for myself, and I do when I say that while I may need help, I certainly don’t need it from Count Woe-Laf over here.” 

“Roman!” 

“Darling, I understand that he’s your friend,” Roman said, “I suppose I could even admit that somehow, I see why you’re _his_ friend, and I understand that… something changed. Somehow. But this is already too much. First- First he just _quits_ and teases me for how I reacted, then he lets that side of him disappear for over a month, then he just- just _saves us_ out of _nowhere_ and… and reveals his identity to be someone who- someone who could have taken me by surprise at _any moment_ , exposed me- exposed _you_ , used you against me at _any moment_ , and you- you can’t just expect me to be okay with that.”

The tension that filled the room between Patton and Roman was so strong it felt like the rubber band would snap at any moment, which surprised Virgil. He could see where the Prince was coming from, but Patton had an out of place annoyed look on his face and his arms were crossed. 

_Oh, no. Protective Dad mode._

“Roman, you can’t let who he was paint how you see him forever!” 

“I- I _just_ found out!” 

“That doesn’t change that he’s still Virgil!” 

“Maybe you can accept this at the drop of a hat, Pat, but I can’t!” 

God, they were _fighting?_ Over _him?_ They never fought, not that Virgil had seen, and now they were and it was because of him? 

“I’m not asking you to!”

Damn, no, this was his fault in the first place, none of this would have happened if he hadn’t-

“Then what are you asking me to do?”

Hadn’t what? Saved them? Of course he didn’t regret saving them, damn it, he wanted them alive. Both of them. Roman was his friend - God, this whole conversation hurt so much, what if Roman wasn’t even his friend anymore? - Patton was his friend, he had crushes on both of them - granted, that on Roman was very recently developed, but he hadn’t realized how much he’d already in a sense bonded with the hero over their battle bickering-

“Don’t let the past warp your perception of the present?” 

“It’s not that simple!” 

Hadn’t hung out with them? What if they had still ended up on that street, fighting the Dark Sides, fighting Remus, and they had died because Virgil wasn’t there? Who’s to say these “Dark Sides” wouldn’t have done the exact same thing if Virgil had chosen to remain a villain? 

“He’s still _Virgil!_ ”

“Yeah, but he’s _also_ the Phantom!” 

Hadn’t set them up? 

… God. Had this really, really, all started because he, by some weird, weird twist of logic, decided to set up his crush with his arch rival? 

Had it? 

But did he really regret that? 

Part of him did. 

Part of him… didn’t know. 

It felt selfish to try to keep them apart. It felt foolish to expect there was no chance they would have met naturally. It felt silly to have done this, played matchmaker like some… some high school girl in the first place. 

Patton and Roman were so happy together, from the start. This was the first time he’d seen different, and this was something they could get past. It was an argument Patton would regret later and Roman would regret getting worked up over as soon as he had a minute to think about it. 

They’d forgive each other. Maybe Roman would never forgive Virgil, maybe they would drift apart, maybe Virgil would be left to watch over Roman from the sidelines, and he would be alright with that. Because Patton and Roman would be happy. 

So if he regretted none of that, and he knew how this would end, what did he regret? 

“Roman!” 

“Patton!” 

_“Enough!”_

Not stepping in earlier, that’s what. 

“Roman, Patton,” Virgil was standing now, voice cutting through the tension like a machete through the jungle, “I get where both of you are coming from, and Patty Cake, I have to side with Roman on this one. If he needs time to process this stuff, like he usually does, he can take however long it takes. Hell, I wouldn’t blame him if he never talked to me again. 

“You’ve got to remember, you’ve only ever really known me as Virgil before this. Roman knew me as the Phantom long before he knew me as Virgil, though, and even when he did know me as Virgil, his view of the two was so separate that now he knows they’re one and the same, those views are clashing. One’s probably going to end up outweighing the other, they might never even truly mix, and I wouldn’t blame him if the Phantom overpowered Virgil like the breakfast scents in a candle store. 

“Roman, I’m sorry I pushed all of this onto you so suddenly. It didn’t even cross my mind that it might put this much stress on you. I quit because I didn’t see any point in being a villain anymore, anything I could do that was ‘villainous’ just seemed like too much work or, more often, flat out wrong. I thought it would be one less problem for you to deal with and for a while I found it funny that you thought it was all a trick, I thought that you would realize it wasn’t sooner rather than later and that’d be that, but I think I severely underestimated how long it would be before you reached that point naturally and, honestly, I was in the wrong there. 

“I’m sorry I did that to you. I feel guilty, but I still honestly can’t say I regret it. _Any_ of it. Well… maybe I regret teasing you over it and then acting like it should be obvious that I was serious, it really wasn’t, but the main of it. I don’t regret quitting, I don’t regret figuring out you were you, I don’t regret any of what I did today, I don’t regret… I don’t regret it. Hell, if you enjoy being a hero, I don’t even regret being your first villain all that much. But while I don’t regret quitting, even I can see how that might have seemed selfish of me. 

“The short and sweet of it is, I’m sorry. To both of you. But I’m also not. And however you take that is fine by me. Just… don’t be mad at each other for this. You’ll both just regret it later.” 

For a minute, they were both quiet after that. Patton was the first one to move, stepping over to Virgil. “No, I’m the one who should be sorry.” He turned to Roman. “Mostly… mostly to you, Ro. I wasn’t thinking about how this must feel from your perspective. I just want the best for both of you and I was only thinking about what the end result of that should be, not the time it would have to take to get there. If… if there at all, I guess.” 

“Thank you, Patton,” Roman replied, “I accept your apology. I understand where you were coming from. I just… need more than a few minutes to really accept this, if I even can. I know- I know there’s a part of me that _wants_ to just accept it like you did and not let anything change but… this is something big. To me, at least. And I don’t know that I’ll ever really see it that way. I…” He trailed off, looking over to Virgil, then out the window, then back at Patton. “I think I just need some time to sort my thoughts. I’ll… see you tomorrow, okay?” 

Patton nodded. Roman turned to leave, grabbing his satchel bag containing his Prince outfit on the way out. He stopped at the door. 

“Oh, and, Virgil?” 

“Yeah, Roman?” 

“... Thanks.” And for once, the literist couldn’t seem to find the right words. He gave a strained sort of sad smile that turned into a frown as he looked away and left, door not even having the courtesy to creak as it shut behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> I never said I'd do my job in making the children behave. 
> 
> Did you expect me to create a deep profound original backstory for our rather domestic villain friend? I mean. Maybe I should have but shut up literist is definitely a word.


	13. Battle of the Cinnamon Rolls

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You're all cinnamon rolls, all ah y'all.

For a while, they just sat in silence. Eventually, Patton turned on the TV, though the channel was quickly switched to Steven Universe. Neither of them could quite bear to even risk watching the news right now. 

The silence was a thoughtful one. Not that Virgil needed any time to think, he had already gone over every scenario in his head, most of them bad. 

What if Roman decided to turn him in? He had committed a lot of crimes, there was a reason he should be arrested. Could he get away with pretending he wasn’t the Phantom in court? It wasn’t like they had any proof or witnesses outside of Patton, and Patton would try to protect him, right? But what if a bystander had seen him save Roman and Patton? What if a bystander gave the police a description even if Roman didn’t report him? What if Patton realized Roman was right and ended up siding with him? 

… He did his best to focus on the show instead. 

He couldn’t stop his gaze from flickering to Patton, though. Looking for any hint of what the blond might be thinking. For the most part, Patton’s expression was neutral aside from smiling at certain parts of the show. As time went on, though, Virgil noticed some puzzlement creeping into his gaze, until one time he glanced over to find a smirk on Patton’s lips. 

“Hey, Virge?” the blond man spoke. 

Virgil shifted in his seat. “Yeah, Patton?” 

“You sort of slowed down how many big crimes you were committing around when   
I started dating Roman, didn’t you?” 

Shoot. Right. Patton kept up with everything to do with the Prince, even now that they were dating. He hadn’t lost that habit in the years they’d known each other. Of course he’d notice when more of the big crimes were starting to do with other villains. 

“Yeah..?” 

“And it was only a little after you found out he was the Prince that you quit.” 

“It was like two or three weeks after, yeah.” 

“And before all that,” Patton was smiling rather teasingly now, “A lot of your crowd-drawing crimes were around where you knew I would be.” 

Virgil flushed. “.... yeah..” 

Patton’s smirk was undeniably playful. “You were trying to set us up, weren’t you?” 

The light smattering of pink darkened quite a bit. “.... Shut up.” 

Patton launched forward across the couch to hug Virgil. “Aw, Virgil, that’s so sweet! And cute! You little bat-winged Cherub you!” 

Virgil was red to his ears. “Pattooon!” He complained. 

“Your last official act as a villain was to set up the hero with your best friend because he was crushing on him. That is one of the most adorable things I’ve ever heard.” 

Virgil leaned over to bring his face to his hands, unable to bring his hands up due to Patton’s hug pinning his upper arms to his sides. “It’s not cute!” 

“It is though! You’re adorable!” 

What Virgil certainly did not wish to do in this situation was make an embarrassingly high-pitched noise of protest that he would never admit to having made. Patton laughed. 

“Well, you are.” 

Virgil huffed and leaned back again, fixing Patton with an annoyed look. “You’re the only adorable one here.” 

It was Patton’s turn to make an (admittedly less embarrassing) noise of protest and… did, did Virgil imagine that blush? It was probably just embarrassment, right? That mixed with surprise? “Am not.” 

“Are too.” 

“Am not.” 

“Are too. You’re the cinimonrolliest cinnamon roll that ever did roll.” 

That was definitely blush. 

“Am not!”

“Oh?” Virgil smirked, “Did I not order a cinnamon roll with extra cinnamon when I signed up for your friendship?” 

Oh, what Virgil would give to see that blush deepen some more. 

Patton huffed. “I’m not a cinnamon roll!” Virgil gave him a look and Patton rolled his eyes. “I’m not the cinimonrolliest cinnamon roll,” he amended. 

“Oh?” Virgil smiled, “Then who is?” 

Patton smirked evilly. “You are.” 

And suddenly the blush was back to Virgil’s ears and he was hiding his face again. “Patton, no!” 

“Patton, yes!” 

Virgil glanced up through his fingers. “Since when were you capable of such evil?” 

Patton smiled and leaned back into the hug again. “You have taught me well, my dark strange son.” Virgil groaned and Patton giggled, playfully pressing his face into Virgil’s shoulder. 

Even if they weren’t together romantically, Virgil was happy with this.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> Accept that you're cinnamon rolls.


	14. The Aftermath

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> People twitter too much.

The coming weeks were… painful to say the least. And it wasn’t just Princy, though that was a large part of it, especially with all the new pain that came in that time. 

The first week was the worst. 

It all hit at once. The memory of the events still fresh, the constant asking himself of what he could have done differently, could he have done anything differently, was this just the fate he was destined to be hurt like this to have everything torn away… 

After the day of the events, there was a period of about two days where none of the three even made an attempt to contact each other aside from canceling plans they’d had for those days, mostly on the behest of Virgil and Roman, and after that, Virgil was informed by Patton over the phone that the blond would be spending some extra time with Roman while the Prince came to terms with everything and that as much as he’d love Virgil to be there too, it was still too soon, and oh, Virgil understood, don’t worry Patton, I’ll be alright. 

So Virgil was basically left completely alone aside from the people he encountered at his job for the hell that was to be those weeks. 

What else could make it hell you ask? What, outside of the loneliness and anxiety over going back and back over the events over and over could have happened? 

Dear reader, people notice when their heroes are off their game. 

All over the internet, the news, even word on the streat, conversations overheard in a coffee shop, were focused around one little Prince who already had too much on his plate to digest. 

What had happened that Sunday? 

Did Prince really lose? _That_ badly?

Was he getting weaker? 

Were these supervillains too strong? 

Did you hear about the Phantom? No, what? 

People saw him running from the area.

I heard he was supposed to be part of the attack but got his mask ripped off. The sightings were basically a blob of shadows.

I heard he was using his shadows to blind the Prince.

I heard he _saved the Prince_.

What? 

No way. 

Impossible. 

No, really! My friend saw it. Well, not the whole thing, but he saw this shadow bubble thing and one of the building rocks bounce off of it like rubber or something and then it turned to smoke and when it moved out of the way the Prince was there and the shadow kept moving like there was a person in it.

The Phantom… _helped_ the Prince? You’re screwing with me, dude. 

I’m not! 

What if it was all staged? All their battles and stuff? Like, what if they were a couple or something and they made this plan to get famous and rich by playing superhero-supervillain and they’ve been allies this whole time? 

Cut the crap, dude. This isn’t one of your fanfics. Why would the Prince do that?

He’s not even gay.

He’s totally gay. 

Even if he weren’t, we’ve never seen the Phantom’s face. They could be a girl.

What if they were allies and they broke up or something and that’s why Phantom quit? 

No way.

Yes way. 

_What if the Prince has been evil this whole time?_

What if-

Virgil couldn’t believe that last one. People thought that the _Prince_ , that _Roman_ had worked with Virgil to… to concoct some- some _seven year plan_ to become a famous superhero and supervillain? People thought- oh, god, people thought they had been _dating?_ Christ, where did people get this stuff. 

People thought the Prince was weak, evil, losing his touch or any plethora of other things and Virgil… was it Virgil’s fault? He- he had been the one to quit, he was the Phantom, that one rumor.. The “evil Prince” or whatever, that was his fault, wasn’t it? For- for what? _Saving_ him? 

God, this is why Virgil hated society. 

And Roman- 

Oh, God, Roman. 

What must Roman be feeling over all this? To get- to get shouted at to answer questions about rumors that were just hurtful whenever he made a public appearance to fight off a villain… no wonder the man had been leaving that stuff to the upstart vigilantes recently. 

But… But if Princy didn’t fight crimes, these rumors would just continue. Get worse. But what if he got overpowered by the Dark Sides again? What if none of the Vigilantes came to help him? What if they _did?_ Last time...

What if he hated Virgil for this? Got Virgil arrested for this? So that no one could- so no one could say he was associated with the Phantom anymore… 

What if he didn’t? 

What- what if Roman decided that for whatever godforsaken reason, he _did_ want Virgil’s help, of all people? The rumors would get worse, the suspicion would get worse, oh, god, it could only get _worse..._

And then there were the “Darksides”. They had social media accounts now, apparently managed purely from public computers within very short spans of time as no one could track it down further than a public device, like library computers and such. 

They actually cleared up one rumor: they had not worked with the Phantom that day, any sighting or involvement of his was purely coincidental.

Why they did this, Virgil had no idea. Establish themselves as the new “big bad?” That made sense, he supposed. Now that the position of top dog had all but toppled itself over, they were trying to build their new evil tower on the rubble of Virgil’s imploded dungeon. But the way they phrased it… maybe Virgil’s mind was just playing it up, but it sounded as though they outright resented the thought of being connected to the former villain, resented _him_ which…. didn’t exactly bode well. 

This… this was all getting to be a bit much. Every day of that first week, Virgil felt another bomb drop on his ability to cope with the events of that day. It barely got better the next week.

It was only on a Wednesday two and a half weeks later that he got to see Patton again, in his apartment so as to avoid having to hear more rumors. 

He all but collapsed into the hug Patton offered as soon as they saw each other. Patton knew how to read his signs better than anyone, and he really, _really_ did not have the energy to hide his stress from the cinnamon roll. 

It was wordless, and it took him a moment to pull away. When he did, he immediately had questions. “How’s Roman? How is he handling all- all of this?” 

Patton led the way over to the couch as he talked. “He’s… certainly been better, but I think he’s doing a lot better from that day.” 

“What happened?” 

“Well, there were lots of hugs, he really needed one, and we talked about a lot of stuff. I think those discussions are better left until he’s here, though.” They sat down, not close enough to touch but close enough that they could if they wanted to. Virgil was sitting sideways with one leg on the couch, Patton simply electing to pull his knees up under him. 

“Right, yeah, gotcha. But- how’s he been taking all of the… y’know.” 

“The rumors?” Virgil nodded. “Honestly? I don’t really know. I never really brought it up because what we were discussing was already so much and he promised he’d bring up anything he needed to talk about, but he hasn’t even mentioned the rumors. Especially the… one involving the two of you,” 

“Shit, yeah, that’s not…” He looked down. “That’s not good. I can barely stand to hear it and I’m not even the one who got the short end of the stick with it.” 

“Virge?” the man in question looked up at the question. “You know it’s not your fault, right? 

Virgil looked back down. “Isn’t it, though?” Patton made a noise of protest and Virgil started talking quickly, “I mean, if it weren’t for me those rumors wouldn’t exist to begin with, if I’d never quit maybe none of this would have happened. Or if I’d never been a villain in the first place. Yeah, that might be better. I mean-” 

He was cut off by Patton gently pulling him into a hug, resting his chin on Virgi’s head. One of his hands rubbed the former villain’s back while the other held his head gently. “Sweetie, no. There’s nothing you could have done to stop this. If you had done anything differently, me and Roman could very well be dead right now. You didn’t regret it before, you shouldn’t regret it now. This isn’t your fault, Vee.” 

Virgil took a deep breath. “What did I do, Patton?” 

“Veevee, I just told you-” 

“No, I mean,” Virgil spoke with a sigh, “What did I do to deserve this? Any of this? You comforting me?” 

Patton moved so his forehead would be resting against Virgil now. “None of that. Talk like that will result in more hugs to fight away the bad feelings. You don’t have to do anything to… ‘deserve’ me, Virgil.” 

“I must- I must’ve done _something_ , in a past life or whatever, to… any of it. All of it. The- the powers, the horrible luck, I just want to know how I got all of that and still somehow was enough to deserve _you_.” 

“You didn’t deserve any of it, kiddo. It was just bad luck. Maybe I was just the universe’s way of making up for it all.” 

Virgil whined. “You don’t get to do that.” 

“Do what?”

“Make it seem like this is your duty or whatever. Make yourself think you have to be around me. I don’t want you being my friend just so you can help me or something.” 

“Sweetie no.” Patton pulled back just enough so he could make eye contact with Virgil. “I’m your friend because I want to be. That’s always been the case, and I wouldn’t change a single moment of it.” 

“Even that time you stole my hoodie for a day so I captured all of your cardigans until you ran out?” 

Patton smiled. “Even that. I wouldn’t trade you for the world, Virgil.” 

And Virgil knew he was suddenly pinker than a Mean Girl on Wednesday. He hoped Patton brushed it off as… anything but what it was. It wasn’t the same sort of flustered he’d experienced two weeks ago, no, but it was still there. “Patton-”

“I know you’re going to try to protest this, Virgil, but I’m going to let you know right now I’ll be able to argue any point you bring up without even hesitating.” 

Virgil was struggling not to let his blush rise further. And they were still half hugging, which did not help. Patton being extremely physical with his affection even with friends certainly was not helpful when Virgil was trying to continue hiding a year- two year long crush on the man, but hey, he had made it this far.

“What if Roman never wants to see me again?” 

“That would be sad but it wouldn't mean I couldn’t still see you.” 

“What if he doesn’t want you to?” 

“Then that would mean he didn’t respect my decisions for myself and it wouldn’t be a relationship I’d want to be in anyway.” 

“What if he turns me in?” 

“They have no proof and I refuse to let them use me against you.” 

“What if he-” 

“Virgil.” Virgil hadn’t realized his gaze had been drifting until he met Patton’s eyes to find them more serious than he’d ever seen them. “I don’t care what Roman ever thinks or does, even though I’m sure none of that will happen. I would side with you a thousand times if it meant keeping you beside me.” 

Virgil didn’t think he would be able to keep down his blush if he tried after that. 

God, this wasn’t fair. Their discussions were usually playful and light-hearted, not all serious and mushy and junk. They’d both been spending too much time around Princy. 

He elected to hide it by leaning back into the hug. “Thanks.. Patton.” 

He felt Patton’s forehead rest against him. “Of course, sweetheart.” 

Sweetheart. 

Had Patton always used names like that for him this often? He’d always had a habit of giving people childlike nicknames - sweetie, kiddo, sport, and so on - but usually for close friends he would use more personalized ones when he was feeling mushy, some notable ones being “my shadowy but angelic songbird” or “you sweet and sour misunderstood shadowling”. Or, at least, he thought that had been a general thing. Patton did the exact same thing for Roman, after all.

Roman, his boyfriend. 

Roman. Ro. My Prince. You Royally Roman-tic Robin. 

That was just a coincidence. Patton being Patton. 

...Right? 

God, Virgil could not deal with false hope right now. 

It was a while before Virgil finally had to leave, waving goodbye to Patton and beginning the walk home. On the way down, though, he almost tripped as he checked his phone. 

There was one text. 

From _Roman._

_Prince Charming_ : Can you meet me in the park tomorrow at five?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> It's probably fine.


	15. Can I Nope Out?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pro tip: don't show up thirty minutes early to an anxiety inducing meeting unless you know for a fact the other person will be just as early

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Diablo is Maleficent's raven it's utterly obscure but I wanted to keep up the raven thing I had going for our little black winged bean.

_Damnit, damnit, damnit…_

Virgil was starting to wonder if he had the mental capacity to deal with this, and all he was doing was sitting at their usual park meeting place a good thirty minutes before they were supposed to meet. 

Virgil had started coming to the park regularly about four years ago. Back then it had been alone, a place where he could relax, listen to the wind in the trees instead of the rushing cars and the peaceful bird chirps instead of too loud voices for once. It had been where he met Patton by chance, just ran into each other and found that they both frequented the park. Ran into each other and kept running into each other, actually.

…. Not that Virgil would admit he had memorized Patton’s park schedule after the first couple weeks of knowing the blonde and made a point to come on almost all of those days… 

It had helped that his schedule in supervillainy was rather flexible by that point.

Memories of Patton had solidified the park as his refuge, his place of calm. That was something he hadn’t really admitted to even Patton, he had been afraid his friend would find it weird for a while and more recently it was because he didn’t want Patton to think bringing Roman into the picture had been overstepping some unspoken code of special-place. 

So of course Roman didn’t know that. And of course Roman would choose such a place to out of nowhere ask to meet in a way so sudden it had already resulted in an anxiety attack the previous night. He had barely made it through the text conversation and home before it got the best of him.

_Prince Charming_ : Can you meet me in the park tomorrow at five? 

_Diablo_ : r u sure that’s a good idea? 

_Prince Charming_ : I need to talk to you

_Prince Charming_ : It’s not like we’re going in costume, why would it be a bad idea?

_Diablo_ : wut if someone figures it out?

_Prince Charming_ : and before you ask ‘what if someone figures it out’ or something if any park frequenters would they would’ve already so no 

_Prince Charming_ : guess I do still know something about you

_Diablo_ : do you hate me?

_Prince Charming_ : I want to talk in person, can you make it?

_Diablo_ : ur not just trying to trick me in2 showing up so you can get me arrested or something r u?

_Prince Charming_ : why would I do that? 

_Diablo_ : r u actually asking me that question?

_Prince Charming_ : Scratch that

_Diablo_ : i’m actually asking cause I could list them out

_Prince Charming_ : I said scratch that Evil Hansen! 

_Prince Charming_ : I’m not going to get you arrested

_Diablo_ : not ur best nickname Princy

_Prince Charming_ : Do you not pay attention to the thought bubble that says I’m typing or something? We keep sending at the same time

_Diablo_ : no. no I don’t

_Diablo_ : i’ll c u tomorrow I guess

He didn’t know how he managed not to immediately get back on to ask more anxiety-sparked questions to make sure the Prince wasn’t planning something, he didn’t know how either of them had managed to fall back on old text habits so fast, he didn’t know how the real meeting would go. 

Did Roman hate him? Did he really end up thinking of Virgil as the Phantom more than, well, Virgil like he’d predicted? He had called him “Evil Hansen”, what was Virgil supposed to think of that? It had taken him a half second too long at the time to brush it off and come up with a snarky remark, but now he’d had time to think about it. Did Roman still think he was evil? Was it just a normal playful nickname? How much had changed between them?

Then, there were the lingering other anxieties. 

What if this was a way for Roman to get Virg- the Phantom arrested? What if he had tipped off the cops or what if he was going to record whatever conversation they had and try to get Virgil to verbally admit it? What if Roman was going to try to warn him away from himself and Patton?

What if Roman really did hate him? 

The Prince hadn’t responded to that question in the text conversation, he’d sidestepped it. Then again, hadn’t the thought bubble for his next message already shown up before he sent it? _Had_ it? Virgil wasn’t sure anymore. It could have been that he didn’t give Roman a chance to respond to it? Maybe? But what if it wasn’t that? What if Princy just hadn’t wanted to say it to Virgil’s face? Or, wanted to but not through text?

He was really starting to regret showing up early. It just meant waiting thirty minutes at this bench until Princy showed up with nothing but his thoughts.

He tried to distract himself by people watching, something he used to do when he came here alone. Just curiously watching passersby, maybe making up what their story or reason for being here would be if he was feeling bold though he’d never been very good at it. It didn’t work completely, but it did help time pass a little faster, as he now suddenly saw Roman making his way over without noticing it was getting to that time and he felt it all rush back. 

Nothing was said as Roman approached the bench, or as he sat beside Virgil, or as they simply sat for a few moments. 

“Virgil, I don’t-”

“Roman, I’m sor-” 

They stopped as their words overlapped. Virgil gave a laugh, more nervous than amused. “Sorry, you should go first.” 

Roman seemed to study Virgil for a half second. “Yeah, I should, because you have nothing to apologize for now. Not to me.” Virgil was blown stock still by that. That wasn’t remotely what he expected. “I don’t hate you, Virgil. I went back over it all in my head, and I’m not just talking about that day, I mean all of it.

“I went over it a few times actually, started from the beginning and I… and I realized that you have never done anything to purposefully badly hurt me physically, and even emotionally… and even when you did hurt me badly, injuries or insults, whether by accident or getting carried away…. You apologized for it in some way at some point. And I know that you did because even when it sounded sarcastic you said it. And I think some part of me kept forgiving you for it. Even… even some of the worst ones. I realized that after them…. Including that one time you even… you let me win, didn’t you? That.. the fourth time, I mean.” 

The fourth. There was one thing Virgil had done four times and quit doing after what happened the fourth time because of what happened the fourth time as much as he said it was for other reasons. It had become a subconscious redirection long before he’d properly met Roman and he hadn’t really thought about it since becoming his friend. He didn’t even used to count it as what he did, he didn’t even realize when he started counting it as the first time for the other thing it was.

Two years ago, the fourth time the Phantom tried to take over the city, was the first time he’d almost killed the Prince.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> If you can't tell, I have a bit of a thing for leaving chapters on cliff hangers and I will not apologize for that
> 
>   
>  _distant cackling ensues_  
> 


	16. The Dramatic Way

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There once was a raven who was ridiculously dramatic and had a habit of taking things too far

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: There is some violence at the end but I wouldn't call it graphic. Let me know if it could be considered graphic in case I need to update the warnings. If you don't even want to risk it, skip the paragraph that starts with "the thud"

Virgil didn’t know what had started his attempts to take over the city. Maybe it was part of his taking the Prince as a challenge, but regardless, that was what he was doing. Again. 

Jeez, what would Patton think? 

Why did he care? He’d only met the man a little under a year ago, it wasn’t like he would stick around for much longer. No one did. That kind of thinking would just lead to more pain. 

Patton wasn’t going to find out though. 

Patton could never know about this. 

‘Take over the city’ was a relative term. Really, Virgil’s goal was a little like capture the flag: kidnap the mayor and hold him until he and the rest of the people with power in the city met his demands. He was aware that leading a city didn’t actually mean that much easy power, at least not if he did it alone, and only the mayor, and even if he got enough help to hold the whole city (or at least the city council) hostage, that would lead to a much bigger fight that he knew he couldn’t win. 

This would probably be the most ambitious thing he could do here outside of actually killing Princy, which, contrary to popular belief, he didn’t aim to do. 

What were his demands once he got the mayor? 

… he hadn’t decided that yet, despite this being the fourth attempt. Best to wait until he succeeded to decide that?

So here he was, hidden in the shadows on top of city hall. He’d been here before. He’d already tried the stealthy way and the quick way and the fun way, now it was time for the dramatic way. He knew as soon as he was seen, someone would hit a button or whatever it was that called the Prince into action, so this needed to be perfect. 

For a while he sat there, collecting himself, reminding himself that he was the Phantom, the one who struck fear into all the city, _the_ big bad guy. 

And if he was going to go dramatic, he was going to go _dramatic._

First, he reached out. He found with a sort of sixth sense each and every shadow in his range and grabbed on to it, from those around him to in the city hall to those across the street. He felt them climb, climb up the brick buildings and the white of the hall, goopy, unnatural, absorbing masses of shadows clinging to the walls and the cars and the doors and even a few unlucky people. He heard a shout and he smirked under the permanent upturned white stitched mouth of his mask. That was the start. 

He took a moment to take in the collecting shouts, the collecting “It’s the Phantom,” “It’s him, he’s attacking the city hall again!” before standing up and climbing the decorative edge of the roof, front and center. Shadows climbed his own form, almost a cape flowing down into the shadows coming up from the ground, like he was part of the huge mass of shadows himself.

He thought it was rather elegant, especially as more shouts came and people started running into the nearest buildings or pulling out their phones to record.

He cleared his throat, checking his voice. Loud, dark, and echoey, just how he liked it. 

“Let’s not make this more difficult than it has to be, shall we?” 

He stepped off the roof, dropping for a half second before landing on a blasting pillar of shadow. It wasn’t the easiest thing to balance on, but he had practice and it looked real freaking cool when pulled off. Gave the shadows the illusion of true solidity instead of a constant fast upward flow of thick shadows, closer to up sinking quicksand than anything. 

“You know the drill by now, all I need is an open door-” he felt the shadows he’d let climb it inside the building. Those within probably already knew he was there as well. The door burst open as a wedged wall of watery shadow smashed into it. He heard some gasps from the crowd. “And no interference. Those who interfere will wish they hadn’t.” He took another step and dropped about two feet onto a new pillar, watching the people scatter to form a larger radius aside from three very determined filmers. He rolled his eyes and turned to face City Hall. 

“Not so fast, Shadow Witch!” 

Virgil sighed and turned around. Princey was early this time. He must have been nearby. 

Of course, the Prince had to make an entrance. From where he stood on the ground, he launched himself into the air with the repelling force of one of his reversed light shields and landed on a platform of refracted light looking something akin to the floor of the mirror realm from Doctor Strange. A favorite trick of his. 

“If it isn’t Prince Alarming. Don’t you think it’s a little inaccurate to label me as the common witch?” 

Princy scoffed. “Maybe to the good witches of the world, but Ursula’s Sister seems to fit you best.” 

Virgil feigned a shiver of disgust. “I refuse to be compared to the incompetency that is Morgona.” 

“Really? I thought it’d be a compliment for you, Short Dark and Stormy.” 

“I am not-!” Virgil huffed in annoyance and got control of his tone. “I’m not short.” 

Prince emphasized his eye roll for the cameras. “Sure you aren’t, Grumpy. What’s your plan this time? You might as well tell me now, we both know I’m going to win. Three times makes a pattern, after all.” 

“Simple.” Virgil quickly lowered himself to the ground, stepping backwards to the base of the steps to City hall, letting his feet get reacquainted with stable ground. “I’m going to walk in there,” He thumbed over his shoulder to the open door of the city hall, “And kidnap the mayor.” 

Princy blinked as Virgil didn’t move just yet. “That’s… that’s it? No property damage or sneaking around or darting through?” 

“I don’t need it.” Virgil turned around and started walking up the stairs, shadow smoke swirling around his ankles (again, inconveniencing his ability to not trip on the stairs, but it looked cool as hell so it balanced out). 

As he expected, just as he was at the top of the stairs, a wall of refracted light covered the entrance. The Prince’s powers weren’t as individually mobile as Virgil’s, but they could make some pretty good walls when the Prince wanted. Without even looking, Virgil raised his shadows up to block the light forming the wall. He wasn’t sure it would work, but as far as he knew, Princy could only manipulate light, not create it the way Virgil could expand his shadows. Virgil had his limits as well of course, as they got bigger they tended to get thinner and they were far weaker further from their source, but there were enough natural here that it shouldn’t be too much of a problem.

As the shadows rose over the entrance, he condensed them, blocking out as much light as possible to weaken or hopefully outright dissolve Princy’s wall of light. He heard footsteps behind him and finally turned just in time to block a blunt strike from the Prince who was using what looked akin to a crystalized baseball bat. Not a sword or something? He must be struggling to keep up the wall through the shadows. 

That was how the real fight started, though really, it was more a contest where Virgil was trying to distract Princy and snuff out the wall for long enough to get through and Prince was trying to either incapacitate Virgil or weaken him enough for the villain to just give up. He was even trying to simultaneously keep up the wall, the temporary weapons and shields, and bend the light to flood the area and weaken Virgil’s shadows. 

That was, they were doing that, which was rather standard procedure, until…

“Hey, Idiots!” a new voice called out, distracting both the Hero and the Villain just as one of Virgil’s heavier waves crashed down onto the Prince who... was too distracted to put up a shield in time. 

The thud was a heavy one, though still only just audible under the loud shadowy splash, and the wave dispersed to reveal Princy. Who had hit the concrete. Headfirst. Hard. Hard enough for some red to be seen on the whole side of the Prince’s head that had hit, how much from the impact and how much from sliding on it right after was unclear, but it was almost certain that the Prince would not get out of this without a concussion... if the impact hadn’t already done worse, that is. 

_Shit._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> Yes, I did just to that. Yes, another cliffhanger. Yes, I am evil and without regret.


	17. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Red Peacock

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: At the beginning there is some description of violence, I still don't know that it would count as graphic (let me know if it does) but it is more... disturbing than in the last chapter at least. If you'd rather not risk it, there is a slight bit that's about the same level as the last chapter for just the sentence after "And jeez, that side.." until "what had drawn the gasps...". The worse bit is from "...where he had taken the brunt of the impact...." to "It looked like he hadn't..."

Virgil hadn’t even known the impact could be that bad, Princy usually blocked it. How bad had it been? It looked bad. What if Virgil had caused some kind of serious brain damage? Was the Prince out cold? Glancing at the entrance, it looked like it, seeing the Prince like that had startled Virgil out of the concentration for his shadows which made it easy to see that the wall was gone as well. Would he get back up soon? What if he didn’t? Was he _dead?_

It took Virgil a moment to process that there was another person standing by the entrance, at the top of the stairs (he and Princy had ended up fighting each other into the street) looking about as utterly shocked as Virgil. He guessed, based on the makeshift costume (phantom of the opera mask, thick orange hoodie pulled up over their hair, combat boots) this was probably one of those start-up vigilantes he’d heard about, come to try and take this victory from the Prince and distracted them both when they tried to make an entrance. 

For a while, a solid minute at least, everyone was too stunned to do anything. It was as though some force had spoken into all of their minds simultaneously and asked the question: _Was the Prince dead?_

Virgil struggled to get a hold of his thoughts during this time. _Was Prince dead? Did Virgil just commit murder? He wasn’t dead, right? He couldn’t be dead. He was just knocked out. There was no way Virgil’s wave had been strong enough to kill him. There was no way the Prince had died at the hands of Virgil. But what if he was? That didn’t look good. Damnit, Princy couldn’t just_ die. 

In the end, Virgil decided he prefered numb ignorance to the Schrodinger's Prince situation and snapped out of it at about the same time as the pink vigilante. 

“Shit,” Said the vigilante as they rushed down the stairs and to the Prince’s side. Virgil made a numb sprint for the stairs. Well, “sprint”, really it was more of a jog. 

He heard gasps behind him and looked over his shoulder to see the vigilante had rolled the Prince onto his side and put their hands on the injured side of the man. And jeez, that side… Prince had slid when he hit the pavement. Best left at that. What had drawn the gasps was that the scrapes were _healing_ at the touch of the vigilante, not normal healing powers you might expect exactly, it seemed more like some control over the cells themselves. 

Turning back to the door, he was almost to the top now, he hesitated. He was just a little grateful for the massive distraction of the Prince’s… state. It meant no one probably saw his hesitation. 

Did he really want to ‘take over’ the city? Did he really want to kidnap the mayor? He still had no idea what demands he would make, it wasn’t like he could ask them to transfer money into his account without revealing his identity or something like that, and what would he want beyond that? 

~~_Should he really do this without anyone trying to stop him? After what he had done to the Prince? Did he want to leave the Prince with a failure after… that?_ ~~

He moved forward again, still slower than he should be moving, only making it a couple steps into the entryway when- 

“Not so fast, Villain!” Princy was standing up again ~~thank god the kid must’ve saved him~~ by some weird twist of fate, how the hell it had come so quickly Virgil didn’t know, though he did seem a little dizzy and from what Virgil could see of where he had taken the brunt of the impact, it was still roughed up pretty bad, just healed to surface wounds instead of the rather gruesome deep scrapes from before, darker parts where concrete was embedded somehow already less obvious. It looked like he hadn’t broken anything, so that was… Good? They were enemies, why would that be good? ~~But thank freaking God, Princy wasn’t dead.~~

And then…

And then…

In all honesty, Virgil didn’t remember much of the rest. Vaguely, he remembered sparring with Prince again, though any venom or passion behind it was taken out of it for Virgil and he gave in quickly, making it look like the previous fight and the dramatics had just taken a lot out of him. 

The day had been a blur, one he’d tried to forget. Now that he sought it out again, he had some new opinions on it. 

How had he really felt about _Princy_ when he had been a villain? The way that day had gone, he didn’t think he had really hated him, they had been more like… Like people who kept happening across each other on an online video game on opposite teams and developed a little rivalry but without any real malice behind it, taking each other as a challenge rather than a real threat. But that… what he did that day hadn’t been that.

How had he ever convinced himself that _didn’t_ count as an “I almost killed Princy”? Managed to say it had already been once? How had he managed to tell himself for so long that it was the vigilante’s fault or that with the vigilante there he was never in any real danger of dying or he wouldn’t have died someone would have called someone before it was too late _he wouldn’t have died-_

But hadn’t time and time again bystanders had proven the opposite? That for all too long no one would act on it and too late someone would actually think to call for an ambulance, too late and it was all too possible Prince could have been… He could’ve… 

Virgil would never know the true extent of Roman’s injuries that day, but now that he looked for it, there was some pretty bad scarring on the arm that had taken the impact even today, though more faded, looking distantly like freckles from the texture of the pavement. He flinched as it all came back. How could Roman have forgiven him for that? Sure, he had brought it up their next fight with an apology he tried to make sound demeaning purely to keep up his image, but had Roman really managed to pick up on the sincerity underneath that back then? Or had he just been that ridiculously forgiving? 

“How..” He heard himself start, trying to reply to Roman. “Why- how could you forgive me for that? For all of it? That doesn’t- _I_ haven’t forgiven myself for half of it! I told you I didn’t regret- but I meant the start, I regret most of the stuff I did in the middle.” 

“I don’t know, in all honesty.” Roman rubbed the back of his neck. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s something about having gotten to know you since, maybe back then it was something about the undertones of our banter, some unspoken understanding that neither of us actually wanted to…” So it was still unspoken. “... yeah. But I- I don’t know. I found that I don’t really hold any grudges against you for it. I think before my anger came more from the shock than actual bitterness.

“I was talking with Patton a lot for the last couple weeks, of course you knew that already, but I didn’t really tell him I was talking to you today. I don’t know what he told you yesterday, but I did work through most of this out loud to him. He didn’t really interfere or anything, don’t worry, this isn’t him convincing me of something that isn’t true by accident. I worked through all of this myself, he just listened at first. When we did actually get to talking though it helped me get another perspective so I could put words to it all, he’s always been more emotionally intelligent than me you know,” Princy was starting to speak faster now, “And I realized that in some way I had overall similar feelings to you both how you were before and how you are now the only difference before was that it was habit or something that we would just fight, you know? And it probably should have stayed that surface level but I actually enjoyed our banter and-” 

“Hey Jeremy,” Virgil interrupted, “You’re starting to sound more anxious than I usually am, what are you trying to say?” 

Roman fidgeted, rubbing at his nose to ward off the blush-inducing cold. “Of course, sorry, it was just that… I- we had something we wanted to talk to you about and I was wondering if you would be up for visiting Patton today or if you needed some time and wanted to talk more another day or-” 

Well, if that wasn’t anxiety inducing, Virgil didn’t know what was. 

“Talk about what?” He was amazed by how calm his own voice sounded. Somehow it didn’t even crack, by whatever miracle that was.

“Oh- right, uh, it’s- Nothing bad! I can promise that! I just- it’s a conversation best had between all three of us? But it can wait if you need-” 

“I’m fine, Princy.” Was he? Virgil didn’t actually know but this anxiety was still in the “fresh and numb” stage so he’d rather get on with it before he had time to think about it. “We can do today, as long as I can get home before dark.” 

“Right! Uh, that’s good, we can- I can text Patton and let him know and if he’s free we can just head over, yeah?” Virgil nodded as Roman fumbled with his phone a little more than usual. What was going on? What was Roman talking about? He was never usually this nervous. Actually, Virgil didn’t think he’d ever quite seen Roman like this. He was always all confident, always knowing just what to say and how to say it, this rambling and fidgeting was all new. 

“He says he’s free and home,” Roman said after a minute, “Ah- should we walk or public transport?” 

“Public transport.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> The last time we walked... We ain't walking this time.


	18. Wait... What?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Why is awkward/nervous Roman like my favorite one to try and write?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't proofread this one as many times as I usually try to but whatever it's not like my proofreading ever does much of anything anyway

Virgil didn’t know which was worse, the ride to the Apartment or the walk up the stairs. The bus was like a thunderstorm you were watching from a shelter, watching it build and stir and not quite knowing if you would be okay or if that lightning in the distance would strike your own shelter, long, drawn out, but the walk up to Patton’s was a mudslide from the downpour, all of the emotions that were supposed to come from the lightning coming from something completely different just before the end of the trip. 

Princy wasn’t exactly helping. 

The man kept fidgeting, far more than normal, and Virgil had caught his hands shaking on more than one occasion. He kept trying to make strange small talk, too, asking Virgil random little icebreaker-type questions and sometimes going into ‘remember when’ sort of starters and his face still seemed warmer than normal. He was nervous about something and it made Virgil nervous that he couldn’t tell what. 

They were quiet as they walked upstairs and knocked on Patton’s door. It opened within seconds.

“Hi!” Patton greeted as he ushered them inside of the apartment. “It’s great to see you two in the same room again!” 

“It is, isn’t it?” said Roman, “Sorry about how long it took me, Love.” 

“Ro, we’ve talked about this,” Patton placed a hand on the hero’s arm, “You’re allowed to take as much time as you need for things like this. I won’t be mad and I’ll always try to understand.” 

Roman smiled. “Right, of course. And I am grateful to you for adapting, Patton.” 

“So…” Virgil piped in, “What did you guys want to talk to me about?” 

“Right!” Patton led them over to the couch quickly, pulling them each by a hand while he walked backwards. “It’s nothing bad, at least I hope not,” he was speaking quickly now, too, something he usually only did when he was either excited, nervous, or a mix of the two, “And I really hope you take it well but if you don’t that’s okay but I do think this might be better if we sat for it and nothing has to change it’s just that this is something we thought you should know and-”

“Patton.” 

“Right! Sorry.” Patton took a deep breath as the three sat down, Virgil in between Patton and Roman, distant enough not to touch but close enough to if they wanted to. “I um, hm, I don’t actually know how to start this, uh..” 

“Virgil,” Roman spoke up, trying to take the immediate pressure off of Patton. “This is something… me and Patton were talking and when we were, I realized something, and when I brought it up, Patton realized something similar but dare I say stronger. It’s… well-”

“We love you and we’re pretty sure now that it’s actually in a romantic way! Like a bandaid, right?” Patton interjected, and suddenly Virgil was doing a rather good impression of a statue. 

They… 

What? 

Roman-

Patton-

What? 

Roman… Roman didn’t only not hate him after- after finding out he was the Phantom and- and all he did but… discovered he had a _crush_ on him? How- how did that- what? And-

Patton-

God, he could hardly form the thought. 

Patton li- _loved_ him? Like, romantically? And he… hadn’t realized it? Patton was usually the most emotionally intelligent of all of them, Virgil found it hard to believe that Patton simply hadn’t realized… Then again, even with Roman, Patton mainly showed his love in ways that Virgil had previously interpreted as mainly platonic, he wasn’t much one for inciting kisses beyond cheeks or foreheads and noses and…

“...What? 

“We get it if you don’t feel the same towards one or both of us-” Roman hurriedly added “-it’s just that we’ve both kind of only known you in ways that made it harder to realize up to this point like I think I redirected mine through the rivalry so I just thought it was like that kind of passion and when I knew you as, y’know, you, it didn’t come how it usually does because, well, no offense but aesthetically you’re not my usual type but I think it started more through alterous or intellectual attraction later on and I think it’s still in more the crush stages-” 

“Princy,” Virgil cut him off, “I’m not- I feel the same, I’m just confused? How did- Patton, you’re- when-” 

“Aha, yeah,” Patton started nervously, “I don’t think I think of romance in the same way most people do I think? I don’t know, but the way I deal with love in all the different categories tends to be kind of similar, nicknames and subtle stuff, I consider the categories more like- more like suggestions? Or… Sort of like a class in a video game, where they all share some common aspects but some can do different things than others, so romance means more options for more frequent kisses and so on. There is a difference in how they feel but it’s love all the same, so when the romantic connection isn’t immediate or from when I don’t know the person.. I don’t always notice it? Like, with Roman, I had a crush on him and I knew that because I felt stronger for him than I would a normal stranger, but for you, it started as a normal friendship and evolved into romantic love without me even noticing. I didn’t even realize until Ro realized his crush on you first. Sort of like I didn’t even consider it a remote possibility but as soon as the idea was there, it just felt right. Does that make sense?” 

“Not.. not really, to be honest,” Virgil admitted, “but I guess I can sort of see what you’re trying to say? I mean, I noticed you treated me and Roman more similarly than what I’ve seen with other couple-and-a-third-wheel groups, I’ve never fully felt like a third wheel, but… I never thought you would actually like me back. I honestly didn’t even know either of you felt romantic attraction polyamorously.”

“I didn’t figure it out myself until when I realized either, honestly,” Roman said, “I hadn’t actually known it was an option until I voiced that it was a crush and my worries about what that meant to Patton, he explained it to me.” 

Patton nodded. “As for me, it just never came up. I’d been a single pringle for a while when we met and I figured I’d get around to telling you at some point and kind of just didn’t.” He paused for a moment. “You said you felt the same? For…”

“Both of you, yeah,” Virgil rubbed the back of his neck, blushing. “I kind of knew for a while, actually, just... too anxious to tell you.”

“I didn’t realize you were poly either, then,” said Patton.

“Neither did I,” Virgil admitted, “But not because I didn’t know it existed. You know how I’m demiromantic?” Patton and Roman nodded. “I… was never really that close to more than one person at a time before. Even from the maybe two crushes I did have before Patton, the circumstances never came up for me to feel romantic attraction to more than one person, and I never really fell all the way in love until Patton.” Patton cooed at the last statement, which caused Virgil’s blush to brighten. 

Roman beamed. “Well, if it’s mutual all around then, this is cause for celebration! How about a dinner date this Saturday, on me? We can discuss boundaries and all of that then,” he glanced out the window, “Right now I think it’s about time to get going if me and Virgil want to get home before dark.” 

Virgil snorted in annoyance. “Winter sucks. Screw short days, the only good thing about the tilt of the earth is hoodies.” 

Patton giggled. “I agree, but Roman’s right, you guys need to go before it gets dark. Wouldn’t want you walking home in the night, even if you are both super-powered.” 

“Well,” Roman rubbed his neck sheepishly, “Night time is actually kind of a weakness of mine, especially away from street lights outside. Moonlight does offer something to work with but it’s a lot weaker than sunlight.” 

Virgil smirked. “What I’m hearing is that in all those seven years, all I had to do to be successful was gain the will to stay up late and I’d have you beat.” 

Roman chuckled. “Well, you’re not wrong about that, but you’re retired now Mr. Feardrickson. No late night crimes for you.” 

“Got that right. What time Saturday were you thinking? I have work off that day so anytime should work.”

“I’m free after four,” Patton added. 

“How about we meet in the park at around six then?” Roman smiled. “Wear something nice. I know a pretty nice place near there.” 

Virgil smirked. “Sounds great.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think it's because Roman always puts on that confident façade, so much that it's basically his norm, and when he's trying to keep that up while he's utterly panicking on the inside it makes it fun for me to try and picture his failing methods of "I'm totally fine, see, this is my way of showing that I am absolutely not nervous at all". 
> 
> I don't know if how I explained how Patton feels love in this universe made sense or if there's a name for it or anything, it's just how I picture him working more or less, he has so much love and he wants to distribute it as equally and widely as he can. 
> 
> Tell me if I messed something up please. Even if I misspelled a word. Call me out. Help me learrrrrnnnnnnnn
> 
> Have a free hug. There's only two chapters left, after all. It's fluff from here on.
> 
> ..... Right?


	19. Phase Five, Complete.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where did all this cotton come from-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Nah, it is. 
> 
> Basically for Virgil's makeup I'd imagine the Virgil look Thomas got from Ben Pierce a while back I didn't know how to describe it-

Virgil had been staring in the mirror for far too long, fixing every tiny detail even when he ended up simply flicking one misbehaving hair back and forth in an attempt to make it behave. An incoming call made him finally stop, picking up his phone from the counter. 

_Pop Star_

“Hey, Patton.” He said into the phone as he went back to inspecting his reflection, leaning forward to check his makeup, something a bit more… more than his usual look, something he was never usually confident enough to wear. “What’s up? It’s like…” He checked the time, “Five o’clock? It’s an hour til, is everything alright?” 

He was really ready an hour til? He could have sworn he’d been taking longer than that, he expected his alarm to go off any second, but he still had forty five minutes until then. 

“Yeah, everything is fine, I was just wondering if you would maybe be able to do my makeup again before the date? I started trying to do it myself but you’re just so much better at it than me. There’s still enough time, right?” 

“If I hurry over and you’re willing to risk being a little late, maybe. You still got that pallet I got you or should I bring mine?”

“I uh.. I may have broken it a little bit?” 

Virgil sighed, then chuckled.. “This is why I don’t lend you makeup. I’ll be over in a bit, see you then.” 

“See you Virgil!” 

Setting the phone down, Virgil did one last once-over of himself in the mirror. He was wearing a purple polo under a nice leather jacket, a more old-school style one, and high-waisted dark blue skinny jeans with a nice pair of heeled leather boots with matching purple laces. It wasn’t something he was usually confident enough to wear, especially the bold makeup, but… he was feeling confident today. 

Not quite confident enough to not to keep his head down on the way to Patton’s, but he’d had enough to leave the house like this and that was something he hadn’t even gotten close to since…

Not that _that_ confidence had come from a good place.

He did freeze at the door, though. 

What if he’d gone too… extreme with the makeup? What he did for Patton was usually pretty simple and this was far more than he ever dared to go through with on a daily basis. What if it wasn’t… nice enough in the right way? It wasn’t exactly your typical definition of “nice”. What if-

He forced himself to knock before he could keep thinking about it. 

The door opened and suddenly he was finding it a lot easier to stop the anxious thought as that problem was replaced with the new dilemma of his mind screaming _cute_ on loop. 

Patton was wearing the exact same outfit Virgil had helped him pick out for his first date with the Prince, something even their outgoing little cinnamon roll didn’t usually wear outside the house. A cropped white jean jacket over a dark cyan shirt, a black skirt and white leggings and dark-cyan-and-white vans. He had frozen the first time he’d seen Patton try it on and he had never quite gotten used to how good it looked on him. He still melted a little every time. 

“I uhm- Hi, Patton.” He had at least thought he’d gotten past the stammering, but some things never changed he supposed. 

Patton looked even more starry eyed than Virgil probably did. “Virgil! You… you’re already ready! I love the makeup!” 

While Virgil was sure his blush was so strong it could be seen through the makeup, he had to admit that Patton was redder than Clifford the Big Red Dog. This was real. 

“Yeah, I, uh, wanted to try something a little bolder I guess, you’re- you look cute- I mean- ah-”

Patton leaned forward seemingly without thinking and placed a small kiss on Virgil’s nose. “And you’re pretty. I didn’t even know you could do makeup like that!” 

Virgil rubbed his neck. “Yeah, well, I usually don’t. Uh- we should probably do your makeup before-”

“Right!” Patton seemed to snap out of whatever gay-induced trance he had been in and stepped aside so Virgil could enter. 

Patton still decided to go with the more subtle look, it was a lot more his style after all, a smattering of fake freckles and some subtle eyeshadow and blush to complete the look. The only thing that made it difficult was that as they continued, Virgil’s mind progressively lost any ability to access words beyond “cute”. 

Virgil’s alarm went off just before they finished, and they were on their way. It was a lot easier for Virgil to keep his head up this time with Patton by his side, especially as confidently as the blond was himself now, a softer yet somehow stronger confidence than Roman’s.

They had hoped to get to the park first and when they discovered they weren’t, they proved to the universe why as the pair immediately froze and turned red again at the sight of their third. 

Roman was wearing a white blazer with gold accents and a red shirt underneath tucked into white slacks and black boots, a white fedora with a gold band atop his head worn proudly as a crown and, of course, his usual red leather satchel; it was something of a requirement for the hero. He had tried some makeup this time, too, red and gold eyeshadow and a rather dramatic lip, almost theatrical but toned down to fit with the rest of the look. 

He looked double as red and frozen at the simultaneous sight of Virgil and Patton, taking a moment to snap out of it before striding towards them. 

“Virgil, Patton! You both look… incredible! I am at a loss for words! Virgil, your makeup… I didn’t know you could style like that!” 

Virgil smiled sheepishly and rubbed his neck. “Yeah, uh, thanks. Yours is pretty- uh, pretty cool too.. Ro.” 

Roman beamed at the nickname and took them both by the hand. “Come on, I made a reservation for us, we should get there while it’s still daylight.” 

Smiles all around, they followed their Prince to the restaurant, and Virgil felt lighter than he could remember feeling in ages.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After all, how much can happen in one chapter that would be anything but fluffy and still resolve the story with no loose ends or open endedness?
> 
> Heh heh. Heh.
> 
> It's two pages. Don't underestimate me.


	20. Hope

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Downs and ups.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .... alright... I may have lied about tying up _all_ the loose ends....

There was a downside to having a superhero as a boyfriend, of course.

Damn, that felt weird to say, boyfriend, but after some discussion they’d concluded that they were all happy with giving Virgil the new title and that meant he could call them his too. 

They had just finished dinner and paid the check, lucky timing you could say, when a buzzing could be vaguely heard from Roman’s bag. The man’s face turned sour as he pulled out his burner phone, paling at whatever he saw. 

“Dammit…” He glanced out the nearest window. Night had fallen, and the moon was a waning crescent. Any decent light would only be coming from artificial sources, so if whatever Princy saw was-

“Virgil, I need you to come with me, Patton, get home as quickly as possible, we’ll meet you there later.” 

Virgil, taken aback, was shakily pulled to his feet by Roman as the hero led the way to the bathroom. 

“Roman-” 

“I know,” Roman interrupted, “But Virge- I can’t risk being alone on this one, it’s-” He sighed checking the bathroom was empty before continuing in a hushed voice as he moved to pull something out of his bag. “It’s _them,_ Vee. I- I don’t think I can face them alone again, especially at this time of night. Now, here-” He shoved a purple, silver, and dark gray bundle of cloth towards Virgil. “I found this and brought it just in case, I’m sorry I didn’t ask you or anything first, but please, Love, I need help on this one.”

“Roman, people will- people will know-” 

“They don’t have to know it’s _you_ ,” Roman insisted, “I have some sway in the local authorities, they pay me after all, we can- we can say that you were another super who happened to have the same powers and was too nervous to use them and be accused of being him or something until when you saved me and I found you afterwards and you’re my partner now. If-if you want to be, that is.” 

Virgil looked from Roman to the costume in his hands and back to Roman. “Alright,” he said, “But only because I’m not about to sit around idly with Patton and wait for you to almost get killed again!” 

Virgil chose a stall and changed in a hurry, only pausing for a moment to take note of the almost armor-like pattern of the outfit’s medieval-style cowl and shirt, easily bordering on knight territory. He smirked as he slipped on the simple black mask, not as covering as his previous full-face one, but more covering than Roman’s, like the visor of a helmet. To his relief there was a pair of sneakers in there as well, and while not nearly as nice as Roman’s boots, he was glad he wouldn’t be fighting crime in heels. 

God, that felt weird to say. Fighting crimes, not committing them. Stepping out of the stall, he found Princy had already managed to get his entire outfit on, gloves in all, and stuff everything into his bag. How the man changed so quickly, Virgil would never know, but he was too distracted to think about that when he saw the soft smile that crossed the Prince’s face as he saw the new hero. 

“You sure you’re up for this?”

Virgil strode forward with some lost confidence he hadn’t had since his villains days. 

“Let’s go beat up some bad guys.” 

Roman snickered. “How noble of you, my Knight.” 

Virgil smirked. “Lead the way, my Prince.” 

Maybe Virgil’s plan hadn’t worked out the way he thought it would.

Maybe Virgil’s plan had ended up with a few extra phases he hadn’t foreseen. 

1: Get Patton and Prince to meet. 

2: Get Patton and Roman together.

3: Get to know Roman and quit your job as a villain. 

4: Tell them who you were. 

5: Admit your feelings and get together with them. 

And now, 6: Become a hero beside Princy. 

Maybe that wasn’t how he’d planned it or where he’d ever in a million years have predicted he’d end up, maybe things were very different for him now, maybe the world had turned on his head. 

Maybe Virgil would freak out about all of this later and think up a whole new set of anxieties to deal with.

Virgil was alright with that. 

Because, for once, after everything, despite everything…

Virgil was hopeful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I mean, it was certainly one way of going about it, but at least our beans are happy.
> 
> Thank you all so much for your support! Be it a comment, a kudos, a bookmark, all of it I appreciate so much I can’t even put words to it! I’m not the best about replying to comments, but know that I read and cherish every one! (I’m just not great at human interaction…) ANYWAY! Thank you so much for reading! If this inspires you to make something I’d be glad to know it inspired you, maybe even see whatever it is it inspired you to make! I’d love that. 
> 
> And yes, this was open ended, yes, I left room for a _potential_ sequel, but I will not promise that I will write one. I don’t know exactly where I would take it, but I did want to leave room for more in this universe if I ever feel inspired to return to it. Don’t get your hopes up, but if I do make one, I hope to see you there! 
> 
> (side note - if I do make a sequel, I’d hope to make it after we know more about orange? If you picked up on the vigilante from before, I think it’d be cool to have another rising hero to work with, especially since I think we’re all pretty much certain orange is going to be a dark side and I’d like to see what I’d be given to work with for that arc, so I might just wait until that to get to writing a sequel. Doesn’t mean we can’t have a parallel timeline be written sooner; I want to do more with our little villain group at some point, but we’ll see. Keep an eye out I suppose?)


End file.
